Wall Street Shocks Return Focus to Economy

Updated 2:20 p.m.By Dan Balz
The unsettling news from Wall Street that greeted Americans on Monday morning, and the financial hit to the markets that followed, brought the economy roaring back to the center of the presidential campaign and presented a new challenge to both John McCain and Barack Obama.

Even before the triple-header of bad news -- Lehman Brother's bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch's sale to Bank of America and the probable restructuring of insurance giant AIG -- the economy was the top issue on the minds of the voters. But over the past two weeks, other issues -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin the most obvious -- have dominated the political discussion. That phase of the campaign may have ended.

The debate now likely will shift to fundamentals. Who will voters trust to lead the country out of this problem and who do they believe has a plausible plan for doing so? What matters now is how McCain and Obama respond to the latest evidence of an economy still struggling to overcome the damage inflicted by the real estate and home mortgage crises. Up to now, neither has truly won the confidence of voters.

"Both campaigns would be smart to pivot immediately toward Wall Street," said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster. "How the candidates respond to this will be critical to Americans' assessment of whether they're ready for the job. In the big picture of this campaign, this issue is a 'jump ball.'"

McCain immediately seized on the news to deliver a pair of messages during appearances in Florida. First is that the economy is in a crisis and that he and Palin are ready to shake up the way Washington regulates Wall Street -- and also shake up Wall Street itself.

"We are going to reform the way Wall Street does business and put an end to the greed that has driven our markets into chaos," he said in Orlando. "We will stop multimillion-dollar payouts to CEOs who have broken the public trust. We will put an end to running Wall Street like a casino. We will make businesses work for the benefit of their shareholders and employees."

Obama addressed the issue later in Colorado, calling it "the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression" and accusing Washington and Wall Street of failures.

"I certainly don't fault Senator McCain for these problems," he said in prepared remarks. "But I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It's the same philosophy we've had for the last eight years -- one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else."

That the issue of the economy is anywhere close to even between the candidates is remarkable. Given the fact that Republicans have controlled the White House over the past eight years and the normal advantage Democrats enjoy as the party best able to handle the economy, Obama ought to have a clear edge over McCain.

The Democratic nominee does score higher than McCain on the economy, but not by as much as he should, which is why Democratic strategists have been urging his campaign to refocus its message on the economy and to do it more forcefully.

Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, in a memo issued over the weekend, concluded that McCain and Palin, by emphasizing a reform message aimed at shaking up Washington, had managed to draw even with Obama on who would stand up to special interests in Washington, narrow the gap between the two tickets on the economy and actually diminish the importance of economic issues as the most significant driver of voters' decisions.

"While Obama had surged ahead on the economy -- his biggest gain at the Democratic convention -- that advantage narrowed to three points nationally and in the battleground states after the Republican convention," Greenberg wrote, "even as Republicans set the agenda in ways that made the economy a weaker driver of the vote.... Republicans managed to shift the focus away from the economy even as this issue is far and away the number one issue for voters."

In a telephone interview, Greenberg predicted that the economy "will soar as a voting issue" because of the huge shocks that have hit Wall Street. "It will force the discussion to a very serious discussion -- not that Palin is frivolous -- but I think now people want to know where McCain and Obama are going to take the country."

The challenge for McCain and Obama is to help people understand what has happened. The shocks have come from many directions this year. The home mortgage crisis and the wave of foreclosures hit from one direction. Rising world oil prices -- and with them higher prices at the gas pump and for the coming winter's supply of home heating oil -- seemingly came from another.

Added to that is the collapse of financial giants. First there was the bailout of Bear Stearns. A week ago there was the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now it's a decision not to bail out Lehman Brothers but to let it go into bankruptcy, plus the obvious shaky status of other financial institutions.

These financial market meltdowns have both symbolic and real effects on average Americans, even if they cannot understand exactly what has happened or why. President Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are on the front lines of this crisis now, but in a matter of months either McCain or Obama will be in charge. They have 50 days to demonstrate they're capable of dealing with it.

McCain certainly faces the bigger challenge. The economy and domestic issues are not his natural terrain. Beyond that, he must answer for what happened on Bush's watch and offer a plausible explanation for why his presidency would be genuinely different. Obama already is attacking him as ill-equipped to deal with the crisis and has aggressively moved to tie a future McCain administration to a lobbyist-dominated Washington culture.

Obama's challenge is different. He begins with the Democrats' natural advantage on the economy, but where he remains suspect is on the strength of his leadership and his struggle to connect with working class voters.

Howard Wolfson, the former communications director for Hillary Clinton's campaign, described the financial meltdown as a "3 a.m. moment" for Wall Street. "Will either candidate offer an explanation of the problem and a plan to fix it that will reassure voters and break through the din?" he asked.

After all the uproar and chatter of the past two weeks, the campaign may be heading back to fundamentals.

Obama needs to parade his economic team before the cameras and let them spell out a cogent action plan -- specifics, not rhetoric -- outlining how he plans to tackle the economic issue in his first 100 days.

And please -- no more speeches before the flags and a blue backdrop. It's old, already. Get out in the street and roll up your sleeves.

Obama should do that New Jersey tour with Springsteen, as has been suggested a couple of times before in this space. Let the Boss -- a working class hero with a Jesus complex -- show Obama how a billionaire rock star can relate to real people. Tour the shuttered factories, the farms, the oil refineries, the ghettos of Newark and Camden, the shore town bars. Use Jersey as a metaphor for the economic plight of the nation -- it's all there in Jersey.

And Obama gets gobs of press coverage because he's got the Boss by his side in the middle of media-saturated Megalopolis.

As for McCain, he's wise to let Palin be his economic attack dog. She's already distanced the McCain-Palin ticket from the Bush administration on the economy, a very smart strategic move.

The danger is that Palin's inexperience, and the scandals surrounding her, are starting to impact her standing, arguably diminishing her credibility.

McCain also should make a bold statement by removing Phil Gramm from his team, making it clear that while he's a good friend and colleague, his statements about "a nation of whiners" and a "mental recession" have rendered him incapable of earning the public's trust. Continued talk that Gramm would be McCain's treasury secretary hurts McCain's prospects among independents and waivering Democrats.

On top of this, we have politicians of both parties claiming to have solutions when they don’t even know enough about the credit crisis, the dollar, the Federal Reserve, markets and complicated financial instruments to even talk intelligently about the problem or solutions.

Finally this is an election year and the only guarantee is Herbert Hoover Bush will be succeeded by presidential and congressional candidates of both parties who know nothing about business or Wall Street who have spent their careers feeding at the trough of tax revenues taken from working Americans.

Today, what should freedom loving, productive Americans do to defend their homes, retirement plans and investment security from the Wall Street establishment who have failed to provide us reasonable solutions and advice or the Washington bureaucrats who were supposed to protect us with regulatory oversight.

The answers may be found at the FreedomFest World Economic Summit with their speakers, panels and debate format to be held at the
Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas
January 28 - 31, 2009http://www.freedomfest.com/wes/index.html

BOB Wrote: "the mccain campaign tonight announced they will NOT allow palin to testify in the investigation of her abusing her authority in the firing of the public safety commissioner for retaliation against him not firing her ex brother in law.

even though they say palin didn't do anything wrong, they will NOT allow her to testify."

This sounds exactly like the Bushie, claiming to be ABOVE the law, and miss piggie is not even elected yet but she is claiming executive privelege? It's time for the PEOPLE to cut down to size the offrifice of the prseident, now that it has been made like that of a dictator.

Obama must stop been the "sweet nice guy"" saying that he does not blema McCain for what has happened with our ecnmy, and the fall of Merrill Lynch, when many of the Merrril Lynch people gave millions to his campaign. He is part of the republican machine that since Reagan has diregulated everyting, and let those millionaires in Wall Street do whatever they please .

I guess once again, the public is going to have to live with it's horrible decision of electing a President out of touch with all the major concerns of America. It took nearly 6 years to prove to the GOP that Bush's White House was NOT a success. And now that the Republicans are finally convinced of Bush's failure they think electing the same ideologies will change things just because McCain says so. No matter which way we vote, the proof will be in the pudding, just like last time.

The sad part is, even after proof, Americans just don't seem to care; hypnotized by character and narrative once again.

This recent economic implosion SHOULD help Obama, after McCain and his lobbyists have tried to claim the woes of the American economy are simply figments of our imagination and pessimism. And after McCain's claim that our economy is doing just fine. Emphasis on the word SHOULD, because I really don't think any amount of evidence or facts will end up mattering in this election.

unbelievable, these comments are just unbelievable. The house is sliding right over the cliff and the fantasy talk continues. Anonymous, pleaes write back and tell how Obama would "introduce interventionist policies similar to those economists have concluded caused a recession to turn into the great Depression." You mean policies like buying out Fannie and Freddie, and the Fed advancing capital out of its own pocket? You are aware of the Fed chairman's background and activities?

To JakeD-who would be happy electing McCain/Palin because they would overturn Roe v Wade, you will be so busy walking the breadline you won't have time to count abortions, and just maybe your living children and grandchildren will be there with you. You have no right to consign my family to the economic dustheap to advance your views on abortion.

The truth is the US has lived on economic fantasy since the introduction of Reaganonomics. Now that fantasy is crumblingn to dust, and reality will have to enter our lives again. I'm dislike the lackluster campaign Obama is running, but at least his policies allow for some reality. The McCain Palin team want to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, despite what McCain said today about the economy. How is this change?

Do not underestimate the positive effect $4++ gas prices will have for Obama. That "drill, drill, drill" the centepiece of McCain's energy plan, and make us MORE dependent on hydrocarbons from the Gulf of Mexico may very well not play quite so well as it has. Compare this with Obama's drill as one part of a comprehensive and balanced energy plan and ONCE AGAIN we have slogans versus policy. Nothing wrong with slogans, of course, I like: "Bring back America with Barrack

It's an article of faith. A shared belief that borders on a religion. It even has its' own patron Saint, Ronald Reagan. The belief that “the Market” is a sentient entity and it works efficiently to provide the best possible standard of living to every member of our society.
To a Reagan Republican, that which restrains the market is “of the devil”. Therefor it makes perfect sense to let the industry write it's own regulations. They believe the CEOs' of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Freddy and Fannie, .etc, etc are all immensely smart men who would never let their fiduciary responsibility to maximize profit for the investors over-ride their common sense. They wouldn't risk their companies future for three tenths of a point at tomorrows closing bell.
Turns out that's exactly what they did. Reality has demonstrated over and over that's the way it works, but Republicans just keep on believing.
The other major tenet of the faith is “Trickle down “ economics, though they don't call it that anymore. The rich get most of the money and then they invest it to make the rest of the economy grow. It doesn't seem to matter to them that little if any “trickles down”. Under the Republicans wages and incomes for most of the country have been stagnant, under reported inflation and the loss of real estate value has eroded buying power in the middle class to the point that the consumer economy is beginning to stagger.
The consumer economy grinds to a halt when the consumers run out of money, and that's what the country is worried about right now. Government numbers indicating inflation is mild are scoffed at, we know how much the cost of living is rising, we're paying it.
Onto the stage comes John McCain who tells us the fundamentals are sound. What else can he tell us, he's married to the policies that brought us here. He has fifty days and five debates to weather, that's an awful long time to talk about your VP or some imagined insult you choose to be offended at. I bluntly don't think he'll make it. He espouses the same religion as Bush, though he is admittedly a recent convert. During the debates if he strays from the faith, the careful pile of one issue voters collapses and he looses in a relative landside (8-12 pts). If he hews to the word of Saint Ronnie, he looses independents who realize that de-regulation is not at all what they were told.
The basic problem for Republicans remains, they stink at governing.

Almost enough years ago to be nostalgic about, Strange winged beasts began appearing in multitudinous places on both sides of the Beautiful River, in the vicinity of Porkopolis. Pigs with wings, neon pink pigs, and tiger woods pigs, and flashy green international pigs with maps. And then, on the South Side of the river, right across from the world and intergalactic headquarters of Consumerism INC (TM) there appeared a model of porcine splendor that took ones breath away. There, in gold lame torreador pants, bare midrif, Horned Rim Glasses, fifties perm and all, was the ultimate consumer P&G housewife, pushing a grocery cart full of Krogers brands, P&G brands, the ultimate weekly shopping trip. with the lipstick, this was just a trip, period.

Now if someone happens to have pictures of Miss Eisenhower incarnate, could they post a few on You Tube, so that we might see what lipstick on a pig can really mean?

It embodies the Republican Platform better than anything else one might try to find.

And maybe that pig actually looks like someone we might recognize, but you be the judge of that.

The experts in economy have agreed: both economic plans were outright lies.

Obviously, only McCain readily admits he doesn't know much about the economy, but so were most of the US presidents with strong economy. None have ever said on records that the economy was their strong suit.

• Due process denied, Constitution discarded by "extra-legal control mechanism" said to resemble the KKK, the Stasi and the Nazi Gestapo

• A cause of the crisis in the mortgage and credit markets?

• When will Chertoff, McConnell, Mukasey, Mueller, Gates and Paulson take action?

A virulent form of "domestic terrorism" is destroying the rule of law in America.

Victims of so-called organized "gang stalking" or "community stalking" charge that the rule of law has broken down nationwide at the hands of state-supported vigilantes -- operating under the cover of citizen "volunteer" programs and various "service" corps.

Organized groups of private citizens, funded by elements of government at multiple levels, are the backbone of an "extra legal" control mechanism that its victims say is denying citizens their constitutional right of due process under the law. Victims of this extra-legal network maintain that these vigilantes are functioning outside the legal system as judge, jury and executioner -- meting out various forms of harassment and abuse.

Victims call it "domestic terrorism" and they allege that their human rights are being violated.

Those who have been targeted by these groups say this vigilante militia is patrolling the streets, stalking and harassing, inflicting physical harm upon people who have been targeted by this extra-legal control mechanism. Some victims have moved to other cities and towns to escape the persecution -- but they say the vigilantism recurs in their new locale.

"It appears to be a nationwide network that attracts right-wing extremists as well as law and order types and people connected to public safety such as firefighters, police auxiliaries, retired police and military officers, and even their family members," says one victim, who says he has been "gang-stalked" for several years. "I doubt it could exist without some people in positions of power looking the other way."

Even some regular, uniformed police are reported to have been intimidated by this network of extra-legal control, using volunteer citizens as the "street muscle."

Victims say that in addition to being physically harassed, their property is being vandalized; their privacy is being invaded; their mail is intercepted, financial accounts and billing statements altered, family finances decimated; and their physical well-being has been compromised using hi-tech instruments such as "directed energy weapons" that emit silent bursts of radiation -- lasers, microwaves, x-rays, even sonic frequencies -- that can disable, main, induce illness or even kill.

"This is torture that's happening right here, in American cities and towns," says one alleged victim. "But it's like pre- World War II Germany; people refuse to believe that such abuses could happen in a civilized society. But it is happening. And I'm convinced that local and federal authorities not only have knowledge of this extra-legal targeting, but are providing funding and direction.

"I know the FBI knows about it, because I've been down there several times over the past two years to report it." He says he knows of no formal investigation, despite his offers to cooperate.

"I'm not saying they know of the worst abuses, such as using microwaves on targeted persons to degrade their health and make it impossible for them to earn a living. But they must know that these citizen patrols are doing a lot more than just cruising around the neighborhood. "

Citizens who have reported abuses say their complaints are typically ignored -- or that authorities insinuate that their claims are figments of their imagination, or are a manifestation of a mental illness such as paranoia.

"That appears to be part of the M-O," says one victim. "You haven't done anything wrong, so they can't charge you with a crime. So they attempt to make it look like you're crazy. That's how they marginalize people who don't fit in with their world view."

This victim believes the vigilante network is a convenient way for those in power to dispense with persons they simply don't like, or whose political or social views do not hew to what they regard as the established order.

Victims also believe that a network of government programs and agencies works in tandem with the extra-legal vigilante system to destroy their financial security. They allege that the crisis in the mortgage and credit markets may have been worsened by these programs, which they say are sapping the financial well-being of individuals and families without benefit of the right of due process.

Some victims wonder whether these extra-legal programs didn't create those financial crises in the first place. "We haven't had these kind of widespread financial woes for sixty years," a gang-stalking victim said. "You have to wonder if these programs weren't a blueprint for an ideologically-motivated purge."

Some of the agencies looking into the mortgage and credit market problems may have had long-standing knowledge of these programs, according to victims, who are calling on Congress to investigate.

"The issue of state-supported vigilantism and extra-legal control represents an assault on our judicial system that makes Watergate look like the third-rate burglary that it started out to be," says one gang-stalking victim. "Since government agencies appear to be involved in funding these programs, it's up to Congress to investigate, to use its powers of oversight to ensure that democracy and the rule of law prevails -- and not the law of the jungle."

President Clinton often talked about "the politics of personal destruction." Hillary Clinton warned against the "vast right-wing conspiracy," a concern she reaffirmed, albeit in milder descriptive language, in her autobiography, "Living History."

The network of programs and policies that are allegedly circumventing the judicial system, violating constitutional rights and meting out vigilante justice, might collectively be termed the MECHANICS of personal destruction.

Were Bill and Hillary Clinton trying to warn the rest of us about an evil that even the power of the presidency could not keep in check?

The entire electoral process is being marginalized, relegated to little more than window dressing, as true power is stolen away by a neo-fascist element that has found a way to seize the reins of power and authority. It is analogous to what John Dean called "a cancer" -- not just on the presidency, but on the entire body politic.

Amazing as it sounds, this powerful apparatus appears to exist under the radar of most elected members of Congress. Those who should know, perhaps they believe such programs exist to target "terrorists," so-called enemies of the state. They naively refuse to believe that these programs, over time, appear to have morphed into a vast system of extra-legal vigilante control not unlike the East German Stasi, the KKK of the old South, the Gestapo of the Nazi Third Reich -- and that these programs effectively deny innocent American citizens their constitutional rights.

This appears to be nothing less than neo-fascism under the guise of "national security" and "keeping America safe." And liberals and progressives, who arguably are represented among the targets of these programs, naively insist that "it can't happen here." Only the Libertarians seem to perceive the threat.

Whoever is elected the next president will inherit these programs. That person, if he learns of such programs, is likely to be told of their necessity and propriety -- that such an extra-legal control mechanism, employing citizen vigilantes and extra-legal programs targeting financial resources, can co-exist with democracy.

In fact, this extra-legal control mechanism is destroying our democracy; much damage already has been done. Individuals and families are being slowly destroyed. Some call it a "silent holocaust" due to its clandestine nature and the use of silent, invisible "directed energy" technology.

Below are links to the articles about this imminent danger to our constitutional democracy. I urge lawmakers and congressional committee staffers to do some research, and start asking some tough questions, starting with the Department of Homeland Security:

"Mr. Chertoff, are you aware that many Americans believe they have been the victims of so-called community or gang stalking, possibly perpetrated by persons equipped and trained by federally funded volunteer programs under your charge? Have you heard of such reports, and are you investigating to ensure that these programs and their resources are not being misused?"

That would be a good place to start. It apparently goes much broader and deeper; but the curative process must begin before more Americans are seriously damaged by this descent from the rule of law to the nihilist rule of the jungle.

A FINAL NOTE: The writer's communications are subject to persistent disruption and tampering by unknown hackers. Please consider forwarding the links below to people you know at the ALCU.org, CCRjustice.org, or any other group that could help protect our civil liberties from this dangerous encroachment.

"the mccain campaign tonight announced they will NOT allow palin to testify in the investigation of her abusing her authority in the firing of the public safety commissioner for retaliation against him not firing her ex brother in law."

Now Republican CANDIDATES for President get to ignore the law in anticipation?

If Palin is subpoenaed, she testifies or she goes to jail. Nobody in any position of power can say different.

But, after all, John is trying to show us how HIS administration will be a change from George's.

As stocks seek to find ways to turn to dust and blow away, as the companies that buy, sell, and hold those stocks get bought up, bankrupted, or just flat out lie down and die, stock market analysts say, "Don't panic if your IRA's are losing value, trust the stock market."

Of course, now that the baby boomers are beginning to be a permanent drag on the market, all us soon to be retirement age boomers either have to wait and hope while our much ballyhooed private retirement plans turn out to be market hype, or cut and run as fast as we can to get as much as we can before it all goes bust.

You'd better hope the Government decides to find the tax revenues for that SS retirement you think so little of, because after the DOW gets back below 100 its going to be all you have.

But Come on everybody, Vote McCain Palin. The economy is already so bad that they CAN'T make it worse, can they? M

the mccain campaign tonight announced they will NOT allow palin to testify in the investigation of her abusing her authority in the firing of the public safety commissioner for retaliation against him not firing her ex brother in law.

Anderson's stoopid "Bombshell" thing is another one of those the truth is the opposite things that liar McCain specializes in. Obama opposed the "Status of Forces Agreement" which Bush tried to rush through and keep control of the Iraq war long after he leaves office. That agreement actually makes it more difficult to pull troops out, and that's why Obama opposed it, aside from it calling for permanent US bases in Iraq. But when the top of the ticket McCain lies so much, you might as well just ignore this guy, and that paper which is only fit for letting your dog crap on.

he Stock Market takes a dive, big corporations go belly up like shad in a drying pond, housing, jobs, retirement funds all head south, the economy just as a general trend, jobs to Mexico, and your retirement funds to Brazil, and George, Sarah, and John sing rousing choruses of "The fundamentals of the economy are sound"

Yeah, and prosperity is just around the corner.

"Hey, brother, can you spare a dime."

Its nostalgia month in the GOP.

And Herbert, like George and John, never really had a clue.

And on the seventy-ninth anniversary of Black Tuesday, maybe PBS can run "The Grapes of Wrath" for its American Experience program.

MCBUSH IS NOT out OF TOUCH HE NEVER WAS in TOUCH. BLAB ABOUT THE WAR AND HIS MEDALS IS ALL HE REALLY KNOWS TO TALK ABOUT AND NO ONE CAN SAY THAT HE IS A LIAR ABOUT MEDALS AND STUFF LIKE THAT . BUT PEOPLE DO NOT TRULY WORRY MUCH ABOUT YESTERDAYS NEWS AND YESTERDAYS BLUES, WE WANT TO KEEP MOVIN ON. SOME DUDE WITH A PLATTER FULL OF MEDALS WILL NOT FEED A FAMILY WILL IT. HANG YOUR MEDALS ON THE INSIDE OF THE CLOSET DOOR AND LOCK THE CLOSET DOOR. PREFERABLY WITH THE MAN IN THE LOCKED CLOSET AS WELL. WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO BE ALL ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY AND JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS . THE CHANT NEEDS TO BE WE WANT JOBS WE WANT JOBS WE WANT JOBS IF A POLITION IS QUITE ABOUT THE LOSS OF JOBS IN THIS COUNTRY HE ALSO NEEDS TO GO LOCK HIMSELF IN THE CLOSET ,BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE TO HAVE JOBS OR WE WILL DIE HOLLERING ABOUT TERRIORIST AND BULLSHUIT THAT DOES NOT PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE AND KIDS IN HIGH SCHOOLS WORTH A HOOT AND IN COLLEGES SO WE CAN BE GREAT IN THE BRAIN POOL AGAIN. WE ARE A SHAME WE HAVE STRAINED AT A KNAT AS ALL THESE HOPELESS PREACHERS SAY AND SWALLOWED A CAMEL. IT IS TIME WE PUKE THE CAMEL UP ON THE SENATE FLOOR AND PREACH THAT MY PEOPLE NEED JOBS . WE NEED JOBS NOW THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION IS LIKE ITS BROTHER NAFTA A LOT OF SILLY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAS BROKEN US IN THE WORLD BECAUSE IF YOU WILL LOOK AT THE BILLIONS THAT WE ARE BEHIND ON IN THE BALANCE OF TRADE YOU WILL ALSO KNOW THAT THE DOLLAR IS NOT WORTH MUCH BECAUSE WE ARE NOT MAKING ANYTHING FOR THE WORLD ,NO ONE IS INVESTING IN THE USA . HELL WE GAVE ALL OUR REASON FOR INVESTING IN THE USA WHEN WE GAVE OUR JOBS AWAY WITH BILL CLINTONS AND BUSHS NAFTA AND WTO. IT IN NOT WAY HELPED US . WE LOST 3MILLION 3 MILLION JOBS BECAUSE OF THE SILLY THING. WE HAVE TO HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO WILL FIGHT LIKE MOHAMMED ALI AND JOE LEWIS TO GET THESE JOBS BACK TO THE USA. WE NEED TO BE WORKING ON THINGS LIKE THE DOLLAR IN OTHERS COUNTRYS BEING RIGHTLY VALUED AS WELL SO WE ARE NOT SCREWED THAT WAY AS WELL. YOU PREACHERS NEED A LESSON IN ECOMOMY , LOOK, WAS THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD aBRAHAM A SMART MAN ON THE ECOMOMY, YES HE WAS OR HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN RICH. TAKE A LESSON ON RICHES FROM HIM . HE SPOKE MORE ON THE SLY ABOUT MONEY THAN WE KNOW HOW TO TALK OPENLY ABOUT. MOSTLY BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT LEARNED TO TALK OPENLY ABOUT MONEY AND PROSPERITY. TAKE NOTE OF AN EVER DAY MAN NAMED RON PAUL AND GET A LESSON , HE WOULD TRY TO HELP AND INDEEED HE HAS BEEN VERY VOCAL ABOUT OUR NEED FOR JOBS AND CONSTITUTIONAL MONEY . MOST OF YOU CAN'T EVEN HOLD A CONVERSATION WITH RON PAUL YOU PREACHERS AND CONGRESSMEN ALL NEED TO LEARN WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THE WORLD. YOU ALL BABLE ABOUT ABORTIONS AND HEALTHCARE AND TAXES AND ILLEGAL PEOPLE FROM MEXICO AND SIDE LINE THE REAL NEED WITH THESE SILLY ARGUMENTS IF YOU REALLY CARED ABOUT ABORTIONS THEY WOULD BE A THING OF THE PAST YOU HYPOCRIT NEO CONS ,NOTHING WILL BE DONE ABOUT ABORTIONS AS LONG AS IT IS A POLITICAL THING FOR THE REPUBLICANS TO CROW ABOUT BECAUSE THEY ARE A BUNCH OF LIEING NEO CONS. THE NEO CONS WOULD NOT OUTLAW ABORTIONS AS LONG AS THEY ARE ABLE TO USE THE HIDIOUS ABOMINATION AS A WAY TO GET ELECTED. YOU FILTHY RAGS KNOW I AM TELLLING YOU THE TRUTH. AND OUR COUNTRY ALSO NEEDS TO TURN THE MAKING OF MONEY BACK OVER TO OUR US TREASURY AND WE NEED TO KICK THE FED BANKER OUT OF THIS COUNTRY IN ONE FELL SWOOPE. THE WHOLE LOT OF THESE LEACHES ARE DRAINING THE CITIZENS OF OUR PROSPERITY. THE FED IS A PRIVAtely owned lending institiution WHO DO YOU THINK THE FED IS CONCERNED ABOUT WHEN THEY LOAN TO MAKE MONEY OFF THE CITIZENS . THIS SHOULD NOT BE . WE NEED CONSTITUTIONAL MONEY.

For Roger who posted "bombshell", do you realize that you quoted the NY Post. I have lived in NY my whole life and that publication falls even lower than the Enquirer. It always has, and it always will. Just another Ruppert Murdoch publication.

Do yourself a favor and raise your level of reading matter. Or better still, go to a few fact checking sites and see if any of the Post's articles come close to the truth. Good luck.

John McCain wanted either Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge on the ticket with him. He took Palin because that is what he was told to do.

John McCain does not know about economics at all, and yet he continues to say all is fundamentally good, which it is not.

Sarah Palin was picked by the Republican party over far more qualified people.

Vote for McCain/Palin and the White House will continue to be run by the people who are currently running it.

John McCain hasn't the courage to stand up to them and Sarah Palin, I am sorry to say, just doesn't have the intelligence.

Wake up people. Do you really want more of the same? It is really a simple choice. Rant all you want but when it comes to pushing that button, think hard as to whether you really think things are going well or not. It's your future too.

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Republican crooks (Big Oil, Military-Industrial Complex, Financial firms) have done a million times more damage to the USA than Bin Laden's wildest dreams could achieve.

USA over $10 TRILLION in debt
Iraq occupation costing $10 billion a month
Bush just sent Georgia a cool billion dollars
USA losing jobs like crazy
Foreclosures out the roof
Gas over $4 a gallon
USA spends more on so-called "defense" than almost ALL other countries COMBINED!
USA infrastructure worn out and obsolete

the big difference between mcSame and Obama is that McSame will keep the country on the path to destruction and not know there is any need for an effort to change. and Obama know just enought to know that we need to do something and I believe he will at least be open and actively try to make changes to get more jobs in this country. that will be the biggest need for the next twenty five years. we have to have a man who will at least acknowledge that we need to try to get jobs in this country. wake up united state get off your couches and stand up and ask for a president that will be mainly focused on getting this country going again. wake up wake up or you will drown and not realize that you were asleep . get it thru your knuckle heard that jobs JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS NEED TO BE THE CHANT OF THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES. JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS CAN YOU READ THIS, IT SPEELLS PROSPERITY. WITHOUT JOBS YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO SPELL HUNGER,LOSS OF PRIDE,LOSS OF VISION, LOSS OF PERSONAL POWER, LOSS OF DREAMS, LOSS OF SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION, LOSS OF CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM, LOSS OF AMBITION,A CORRUPT GOVERNMENT WILL GET MORE CORRUPT AND PEOPLE WILL BE MORE AND MORE DESPERATE. WE NEED JOBS WE NEED JOBS NEEDS TO BE THE CHANT OF THE CITIZEN WHO HAS ENOUGHT STRENGHT LEFT TO CHANT. ALL THE BULLSHUIT IN THE WORLD WILL LEAVE YOU HUNGRY AND UNSATISFIED IF THEIR ARE NO JOBS.

lol one dude ask the question "is it true John McCain said he did not know much about the economy. lol lol why do you think he trys to steer the chatter and blab about the war and honor and bullshuit,. good god we all care about a lot of things. this ole bullshuiter does not have the market cornered on honor and national security. and yes he did say he did'nt know much about the economy. its ok to admit it. but it is the curt little way he said it. like it does not matter. well bullshuit it matter to the max my friend try being 22yrs old and no job and no decent job in sight. look at the trade imbalance we have with other countrys , we simply do not have good jobs and we have nothing to offer the world. computers are in india, the rest is in china,mexico and scattered in third world countrys. the service jobs have also left the good ole usa. lol lol wake the f$$$k up people. we are in dire straights and will be untill the usa and its polititions do something to solve the trade imbalance. wake up and learn just a little . just a little that all just a goddamn little bit. I don't know much but the jobless america is going to be our total ruin folks. jobs are an absolute MUST. the unemployment rate is not bad really ,but as one report stated the unemployment rate is ok because so many are going to work for minimum wages and both man and wife are working two jobs each in many cases . yes Mc Vainly said he did not know much about the world of economics. Does that surprise anyone at all. He is the biggest blow hard in the history of the world the same as bush. SAME!!!

McCain is going to "shake up the way Washington regulates Wall Street?" With something like 150 lobbyists working for his campaign? Following a policy of more deregulation? Continuing the policies that Bush put into place? Believe that and I have a Bridge to Nowhere I'd like to sell you.

Monday's crash (Wall Street on its knees: Lehman, Bearns, AIG, Freddie Mae, Fanny ...) and more and more people slowly, very slowly are realizing that spending $10 billion/month on flea-bitten rats in far away Irak & Afghanistan (there undetermined $ billions/month as well) is impacting on the crashing US economy.

Vietnam ruined the US financially, now Irak has the same nefarious effect. Wars cost lives & money. Republican's like wars & guns...

Bush couldn't care less about the average family or the millions out of work. For 7 yrs he's been repeating, repeating and repeating again: war, terror, war, terror, war and more war, more terror ... a broken record & this nonsense from a guy who skipped out of service himself.

His Republican creature McCain repeats the same lines. He too now wants war, war ... in Irak, in Afghanistan for 100 years - but to achieve what there? And with whose billions? Yet still, some war fans want to elect the Republican McCain/Palin team.

But why not, after all? America's not totally broken yet. So, let's go for total broke!

If the Marxist had the opportunity, which he wants to do, to increase the Corporate tax rate, increase Capital gains tax, increase inheritance tax, tax small business, raise the graduated tax levels, and increase minimum wage expedientially I wonder what good that would all do to the economy. And his so called tax break to the middle class is nothing more than sending out a rebate check...that is not a tax cut. The Marxist is a smoke and mirrors big government, huge tax, big entitlement far left Liberal Socialist....nothing more, nothing less.

I have been listening to Obama for months. I am on his e-mail list and spend time reading his web site. The problem is Obama is focused on blaming Republicans as opposed to offering solutions, and his solutions are weak and expensive.

His number one answer to our economic woes is to give every American $1,000 (very Bushy) as an "emergency energy rebate" funded by windfall taxes levied on oil companies.

Keep in mind this is the same candidate who ridiculed Hillary Clinton for the gas tax holiday funded by windfall taxes. He said that the money gained through the added oil company tax would just be passed along to the consumer. Now he has reversed himself - again.

I liked the gas tax holiday - as did McCain - and I like McCain's strategy for strngthening the dollar so we can get more for each one. Again - compare the web sites. Obama's leads with "He doesn't get what's happening" blaming, blaming, blaming. McCain goes right to his plan for reform.

The more I hear Obama - the less I like his policies. Obama is weak on the economy and has no new answeres. McCain's plan is much better and sounder.

If the Marxist had the opportunity to increase the Corporate tax rate, increase Capital gains tax, increase inheritance tax, tax small business, raise the graduated tax levels, and increase minimum wage expedientially I wonder what good that would all do to the economy. And his so called tax break to the middle class is nothing more than sending out a rebate check...that is not a tax cut. The Marxist is a smoke and mirrors big government, huge tax, big entitlement far left Liberal Socialist....nothing more, nothing less.

Phil Gramm who's name is all over the 12,000 who loss their jobs today.

"A year after the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act repealed the old regulations, Swiss Bank UBS gobbled up brokerage house Paine Weber. Two years later, Gramm settled in as a vice chairman of UBS’s new investment banking arm.
Later, he became a major player in its government affairs operation. According to federal lobbying disclosure records, Gramm lobbied Congress, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department about banking and mortgage issues in 2005 and 2006.
For his work, Gramm and two other lobbyists collected $750,000 in fees from UBS’s American subsidiary. In the past year, UBS has written down more than $18 billion in exposure to subprime loans and other risky securities and is considering cutting as many as 8,000 jobs." BY LISA LERER

Well it's nice to see the catastrophic crash of the stock market finally got McCain to take notice of the economy.

Unfortunately, McCain still doesn't get it; McCain's proclamation--in the midst of Wall Street’s crash no less--that the economy is "fundamentally sound" is evidence of his ignorance of all things related to the economy.

Our financial institutions are collapsing.
Wall Street is crashing.
Savings and retirement accounts are being wiped out.
Unemployment is up—HP just this morning announced a 24,600 job cut.
Inflation is up.
Home equity is lost.
Real wages are down.
Manufacturing jobs are being shipped overseas by the tens of thousands.

Where exactly is the fundamental soundness of our economy? What happened to the prosperity we enjoyed before the republicans took over in 2000?

All this talk about the polls doesn't mean squat. In most polls OBAMA and McSame are tied...however, in the electoral college OBAMA is still ahead. Palin's phony star is already fading and by the end of the week you will have trouble finding anything newsworthy about her. Her husband has just been given a subpoena to testify in TROOPERGATE. This will bring her and McSame down. The thing that will kill the Re-scum-icans and put Obama in the White House is the massive get out the vote effort and the millions of new Democrats that will turn out for Barack. GOP is toast and they deserve it!! OBAMA-BIDEN2008

Gov. Palin did a THREE-part interview with Palin and was interviewed by People magazine the Friday she and McCain appeared together before the GOP Convention -- also, McCain was interviewed last week -- did you not get a chance to hear her / his primetime speeches?

I LOVE it that those americans most hurt by the economic conditions in this country are to a large extent the rural hillbillies who voted for gw bush. To prove their stupidity, they align themselves with the candidate who, if elected, promises them four more years of failed leadershiup. You gotta love it. SUCKERS!

Obama's economic plan is covered well in the newly released book "Obamanomics," written by one of his economic advisors. While his opponents create faux controversies about pigs and so-called sexism, Obama has laid out a bottom-up economics plan that will support the middle class while rebuilding the foundations of our economy. The book is available at every library in the nation. Check it out and see what a sound economic strategy - one that could truly start us back on the road up - looks like.

John McCain is the original "empty suit" candidate. It's amazing that a man who was thought to be so honorable has turned into a dishonorable liar. Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson was a classic. Without her script, she was couldn't answer half of his questions and constantly contradicted her own record on many issues. What human being would force a women to give birth to a child conceived from rape? McCain and Palin= A BRIDGE TO NO WHERE!

Just as gas prices start to fall slightly and we felt like there might be hope along comes Ike and causes them to spike to an all time high. Families everywhere are wondering where else they can cut back to cover the cost of fueling up the family vehicle to get back and forth to work and take care of the necessities of life. There is no money left for relaxation and family fun. The stress level continues to rise. The average electric bill has risen 16% to cover the power companies additional production costs. A gallon of milk is almost as precious as a gallon of gas. The cost of every consumer product has risen sharply. Americans are stretched to the limit. Jobs are being lost, foreclosures are increasing at an alarming rate. Seems even the family pets are suffering the high cost of fuel as almost daily a sad new story is on TV about shelters being forced to euthanize record number of surrendered pets from those forced out of their homes due to foreclosure or they simply can't afford to feed them anymore. The energy crisis in our country is far reaching and needs immediate attention. Our economy is in a sorry state of affairs directly related to the high cost of fuel. We have become so dependant on foreign oil that we have neglected to fully utilize such natural sources of energy such wind power & solar power. Along with modern technology such as plug in cars, hybrid cars, v2g technology ,and regenerative braking, technology we still seem to be floundering as a nation as to devising the best plan utilize all that is available to us and lift ourselves out of this mess we are in. We need to take our closest look at which candidates put our economy and energy crisis at the forefront of their agenda. The Manhattan Project of 2009 by Jeff Wilson will be out soon, can't wait to read it.

I can get onboard with people who perceive that the Federal government has too many things it is responsible for doing, has internal problems that prevent it from doing many of those things well, spends money it does not have on things the population, as a whole, does not need, and neglects vital issues because the leaders insist a blind eye be turned toward serious issues with embarrassing political ramifications. The government is not supposed to be a cash machine for those people who are best connected to it. Taxes are supposed to be spent to get government to do things well that private companies are ill-equipped to do: principally The People's Business like police, military, courts, prisons, tax collecting, problem solving, regulation. It would be well were a complete overhaul of how business is done in Washington be contemplated and then implemented to stop the stupidity. Smaller, cheaper, better, less corrupt.

"Obama would introduce interventionist policies similar to those economists have concluded caused a recession to turn into the great depression."
Apparently that poster attended the Phil Grahm school of kleptocratic fascism. In the history as sane people understand it; Keynes argued for a non-interventionist approach during a recession but many, if not most, of those views have been disproved or refuted. Enter Ben Bernanke, one of the foremost experts on the Depression and a strong believer that it was inaction that led to the run on the banks. Sick minds don't heal themselves (so get help) and sick markets don't correct themselves.

WASHINGTON — Federal officials announced Sunday they will take control of beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the government's most aggressive move yet to rescue a financial industry reeling from a year-old mortgage and credit crisis.

Just like Reagan's S&L mess...

"W"orst Prez Bush leads America down the financial toilet yet again, while the wealthy crooks get rich and leave Americans holding the bag!

McCain's speech came on the radio late this afternoon. It was AWFUL. Obama should just play these things, flashing images of Wall Street today and this weekend. Or, just do a montage narrative like start with the real maverick of 2000, flash through the years - the thousand little cuts, all the way to Sarah Palin (representing complete capitulation - and pick up some quote of him saying how it's really about his ambition not his patriotism), at this point fade out his grating speech to some violin sad music to then complete silence.

I is for independent - I hear what you are saying. Palin was/is a challenge, and how Obama's campaign deals with it is part of the question of how he would be as president.

all white folks is racist. they have ruined this country and they tryin to ruin obama. but thats okay cause we are taking over the white house in novembver. just like the inventer of the peanut said, george washington carver, the black man can not get free until he gets up inside the white house.

sorry, it won't take the focus off the cultural issues in spite of the fact that the republicans caused this turmoil. it's totally absurd that mccain believes the fundamentals of the economy are strong. it is utterly ridiculous that americans will vote their fears for instead of their economic interests. are you frightened enough yet america?

I wonder why the quoted Democrat pundits are merely offering conjecture instead of offering support and key advice to their pary's standard bearer? Perhaps they prefer that McCain win and that then Hillary would get another chance to run in 2012?

Savings and Loan scandal, Bear Stearns-Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac bailout Enron and Lehman demise with Dubya, and you want us to go with the Mac is back. Fool me once, I'm the fool, fool me twice, you're the fool, go back to the guy that fooled me once cannot be a serious position with the same policies as the guy who fooled me twice.

You reap what you sow - this is a republican goverment that has failed, and failed on the largest scale in our history. They will do and say anything to get people to look anywhere but the truth and the result of THEIR failed policies. They will not take responsibilty and ask with their hands out for another crack at governing us and have the nerve to say they will fix it. ABSURD

McCain has stated many times that he is no expert on the economy and has no propals out there to restore us. Even today he stated that the fundamentals of ecomomy is sound. He is clueless.

In the end people will vote with their wallets and historically Democrats just do it better.

How Obama deals with the economic problem: another Wall Street giant, the Goldman Sachs saddled with bad loans, prime-sub mortgages, high risk derivates and bonds buckled today. The announcement that the Goldman Sachs lost $50 billion in this quarter unnerved the stock market. A massive exodus of funds began sending the ripple effect across the world. President Obama was informed about this development by his Secretary of Treasure, Gov. Corzine of New Jersey, former Chairman of the Goldman Sachs. President Obama called his VP Sen. Biden and asked if this is serious development. Sen. Biden drawing on his 36 years of work in the US Senate unequivocally reinforced President Obama’s opinion. VP Biden received a phone call from his son telling him that he lost all his stocks invested with the Goldman Sachs. Goldmas Sachs stocks after the opening session on Dow Jones dropped 80% to $5. Alarmed Chairman called his colleague Gov. Corzine with a request for an intervention. President Obama has called a meeting of his economic advisers to the Verizon Center hastily rented for this occasion from the Washington Wizards. Over one thousands economic advisers assembled at the center at noon. Another 100 hundred advisers were on their way. President Obama turned on the CNN and watched with his advisers Lou Dobbs commentary on the unveiling crisis on Wall Street. Then selected advisers spoke for three minutes each on this topic. President Obama listened to 97 speakers over a period of 5 hours. Everybody took a break for a dinner served by vendors. President Obama had a hot dog with a pretzel ($10) with a bottle of water ($4). After a recess, President Obama asked pointed questions to 17 speakers. President Obama agreed with his VP Biden that an action is needed. He requested that the advisers divide themselves into 20 teams and present to him their three best options. Around 9 pm. all teams concluded their work. President Obama looked through 20 sets of options and stated that 18 teams included the following options: federal injection of $35 billion to the Goldman Sachs tomorrow morning; 15 teams suggested smaller amounts; 10 teams also included a federal takeover of the firm. President Obama stated that only 1 team suggested no federal intervention whatsoever. President Obama, VP Biden and Secretary Corzine went to the sky box and discussed their final decision. Around 10 pm. President Obama announced through the loudspeakers that the federal government will bail out the Goldman Sachs with a $50 billion cash infusion in the morning. Then he announced that a DJ was invited for those who would like to stay and party. Large crowd of angry basketball fans greeted President Obama outside of the arena. The Washington Wizards game had to be postponed this evening. President Obama invited the crowd inside for the DJ party. Free hats, tea shirts, and coffee mugs with Obama/Biden names were handed out.

"We will stop multimillion-dollar payouts to CEOs who have broken the public trust. We will put an end to running Wall Street like a casino. We will make businesses work for the benefit of their shareholders and employees."

This is a republican saying this? He's either not a republican or he's a liar.

"I'm against earthquakes!"
"I'm for puppies!"

neither of these idiots running for office have a clue, but one of the idiots is coming from the same party that brought you this disaster.

What's the definition of insanity again, trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

Obama's economic policy suggestions are reiterations of largely rescinded policies of twenty to thirty years ago. A "windfall profits tax" on big oil was attempted in the 1980's. This came on the heals of price controls of the 1970's. Niether price controlls nor “windfall taxes" succeeded. Both were precipitously abandoned when they proved to not only fail but also promote the power or foreign oil companies. The profits from oil companies evaparated in the first half of the 1980's. The tax was rescinded two years before its scheduled expiration.
This tax suggestion reeks of pandering as there is little way it can be effectively implemented. The United States cannot tax Hugo Chavez (Chevron and CITGO), Royal DUTCH Shell or BRITISH petroleum directly. This leaves Exxon. The US could institute this tax at the pump which would cause increased prices, reduced consumption. There would be little incentive for oil companies to lower prices as any resulting increase in revenue from increased consumption would be subject to the windfall tax. Increased prices reduce American's spending power. Reduced consumption will limit profits and then revenues from the tax dry up.
The oil companies could reinvest their exorbitant revenues in renewable energy production or improved infrastructure this would be good. However, the revenue from a windfall tax would be nil. This contradicts Obama's assertion that he would pay for social programs and tax reductions to the middle class with this tax.
Obama’s suggestions for increased capital gains taxes and dividend is also another abandoned policy. These taxes were instituted in the early 1980’s as a way of collecting tax revenue reduced by previous tax cuts. These taxes have been steadily reduced. Particularly, in 1997, Clinton and the Republican congress passed a bill that appreciable reduced these taxes. This reduction was intended to promote investment, which became rampant in the late 1990’s.
The further suggestion to increase taxes on big corporations that are struggling to make profits as it is contradicts Obama’s assertion that he want to keep and create jobs for American citizens. It will promote increased outsourcing and the use of illegal or “undocumented” workers as a way to alleviate the burden of increased taxes. Either way American citizens, especially blue collar workers, would suffer. This could also increase the risk to companies as it reduces the cushion companies or CEO’s wish to have if risking presenting innovative products to the market. It also reduces the funds these companies have to spend in research and development.
A tax increase on the wealthy is not necessarily a bad thing so long as the increase does not act as a disincentive for innovative thinkers to pursue their trade. Also it should not be so high as to promote emigration of the wealthy or the emigration of their accumulated wealth.
Obama’s offering a tax cut to the middle class is a good thing. However, if he rescinds the Bush tax cuts, many, if not most middle class taxpayers would see a net increase or a much more modest tax cut than he is espousing.
Obama’s suggestion that we need to reduce troop deployment as a way to decrease the deficit is a good idea. It is a serious problem to run a significant deficit for an extended period of time, especially if done for an ill-conceived war. A long term deficit tends to lead to a weakening of the US dollar and a subsequent reduction in the spending power of Americans. It would behoove the candidate to suggest further ways of reducing spending as a way to promote a surplus rather than suggesting taxing our way out of the deficit, especially while suggesting increased social spending. He would also benefit from articulating how an improved, cheaper health care system would reduce federal and individual spending.

hey, Change This, things are changing. Your candidates are toast.
Palin's stock is collapsing quicker than Lehman did. The state polls you love to quote are from Fox News, which is the mouthpiece of the Republican party. They're worthless. More credible polls two days from now will dig your grave.

"Change This" - Your ight wing hacks sure like to toss terms like "socialist" and "Marxist" around. Now, when I grew up, Marxists were also called "fuzzy minded one worlders", about as accurate a description as I have ever read of NeoCon and current Republican policies. As for "socialist" what one earth do you call shovelling boat loads of taxpayer money to the parasites on Wall Street, bankers, bloated corporate CEO's and officers? It sure stinks of socialism to me! The probklenm is, your variety of socialism means ordinary people loose their jobs...including brain dead Fox news pseudo patriots like you (or, maybe you just loose whatever form of welfare you are presently on). Any way you look at it, Palin and McCain, if elected, will likely run our economy into the ground costing you and similar boobs their lives.

Bush (the Republicans) inherited a fiscal surplus from Clinton and have squandered that by deficit financing of a mad religious crusade in the middle east while at the same time cutting taxes. The US is broke and getting sicker. Your time is up unless you wake up and chuck out the whole damn lot of republicans. Realize that your endless "God is on our side" stuff scares the daylights out of the rest of the world. Don't forget the guys who flew into the WTC were religious nutters also and I seem to recall they worship the same god, just one in different clothes. Get God and religion out of the whole world scene (and USA) and we might all live in peace.

COPY CAT MCCAIN. I couldn't help but notice that John McCain's speech on the economy today included the phrase "enough is enough". It seems McCain and his campaign cannot come up with their own message but have to copy Obama's or whichever message will get him elected. I declare that John McCain should be called out for what he really is a copy cat. Yes Copy Cat McCain. Think about it. He copied Bush 95% of the time when he though that would get him elected. He copied Obama's change message when he thought that would get him elected. He copied the I'm an outisder message by picking Palin to get elected. He is copying Hillary's sexism charges. He is now copying Obama's economic message. What's next. Well enough IS enough! Please add your John McCain Copy Cat Observations.

319 to over a 1000 on tax cuts , 4000 for college costs, 1000 for energy credit vs. 0, more cash going to the top than bottom with McCain, Obama takes from the top and gives to the bottom. A max 6000 vs 319 is a strong argument for getting my vote with two girls in school. McCain said Sarah and I will bring transparency back to government and markets. When Alaskan judiciary committee investigators asked questions in the Monegan investigation, no comment was heard from all of the Republican Palin supporters. Did someone mention transparency or is chicken Palin still not open to reporters questions. Subpoenas had to be issued to get these transparent folk to testify. We need some regulation of our markets. All of them stock, housing, commodities, banking, etc. An example is a 50% daily drop in price freezes trading in that item. Government regulators then can remove the block if demise is imminent and give everyone a fair break on their shares. It could be a rumor like the airline one that drives a fearful financial sector. The government is on the hook for too much already, and letting Lehman crash was a wise choice. If this regulation was in place people would not have worthless shares. Some audit functions on markets should also be done to look for the IRS type red flags for out of sync jumps. We should receive policy, not talk from our candidates.

don't worry republicans: when we're you're on the unemployment line and your sons and daughters are off fighting the latest holy war in iran, at least you'll have a moose hunting hockey mom in the white house to cheer you on!

John McCain took a trip to south america—billed as official Congressional travel--with his two colleagues Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. It’s been reported that prior to the trip, John McCain spoke to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at around 4pm and Uribe gave him some highlights of the operation to spring the hostages. When the Senators had dinner with Uribe that night, they were briefed on the operation but none revealed it because they said it was “classified.”

When McCain was asked about the operation once the hostages were freed, he revealed the fact that he’d been briefed, and praised the operation.

Here’s the problem, there’s a law known as the Logan Act that reads:

"Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."

The conversation with Uribe definitely qualifies as "correspondence or intercourse" and we have a "controversy" with the Colombian government because the United States has been on their back for years to get these hostages freed. To be sure, the trip itself was cleared by the US government, but that's different from State expressly allowing McCain to have a direct "classified” conversation with President Uribe about an ongoing controversy. If McCain was going to have private conversations with a foreign leader, the conversation itself would have to be cleared.

John McCain’s conversation with Uribe raises some serious questions that make more investigation necessary. Namely:

Was John McCain’s conversation with Uribe classified?
Did McCain have prior approval for this conversation?
Did McCain’s staff (or that of Liebermann’s or Graham’s) clear the content of the conversation with Uribe through the State Department?
Once McCain knew this information, did he—in good faith—make that information known to the State Department?
When asked about it, McCain’s aide reportedly said:

"I don't think that there is an established protocol" for such briefings, said a McCain aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity. " 'Protocol' is not a word I would associate with this."

Perhaps there isn’t protocol, but there are laws. And for someone who wants to have the top job of enforcing them, voters deserve to know the due diligence he did on this trip to ensure that he upheld the same laws that govern our diplomats.

Questions are also circulating about McCain’s recent trip to Canada . It too was billed as not being political but rather Senatorial. Therefore, he needs to act like a senator, and not as a presidential candidate. This is because according to the Hatch Act, US government resources and personnel cannot be used in support of political purposes. As the principal on the trip, McCain would have to adhere to these rules, and save the conversation about his campaign for his own plane, at his own events, and not those done on the taxpayer dime. However, in his remarks while in Canada, McCain repeatedly referred to his presidential campaign including in the trip’s headline speech.

it really is too bad that the people left holding the bag here is us(again). while the megabanks and corporations collude with one another, the taxpayer gets the bill not only for this disaster but for eight years of reckless leadership and a war to nowhere. and yes, deregulation is mostly to blame and i would personally love to give reagan a good swift kick but my boot won't reach that deep. and bill clinton was barely any better at protecting those who work each and everyday as well as sacrifice their well-being in the defense of our country. but what can you say about the chicago school of economics and the milton friedmans of the world except to say that greed is all pervasive when allowed to proceed unchecked. mcbush seems to believe that he can just go to d.c. and start shaking banana trees to remove all of the corporate monkeys fighting over the corporate bananas. wrong!! only when the middle class retakes its rightful place upon the throne of economic stability will america even begin to recover. keynesian economics bears more fruit for all those who contribute to the growth of the economic garden. this has long been known. and as far as obama is concerned, he needs to quit playing "nice guy" and give mcbush the black eye he deserves for continually supporting bush throughout the last eight years and pretending that he was the only one in d.c. that "had a clue" as to what was wrong. the fact of the matter remains that mcbush has never had an economic clue to begin with, and if elected will only have four short years to get a clue. doubtless that will not be enough time. the time and opportunity for the democrats has arrived. will exhibit the strength to bear the burden? only if they quit "playing nice".

This catastrophe could become a total game changer. The Republicans are responsible for the mess the country is in, and what we do NOT need is four more Republican years under a President who admits himself that he knows absolutely NOTHING about economics.

The Democrats should now re-run some of Romney's primary commercials pointing out that McCain is totally clueless about the economy.

Great post Monk. It is indeed the Republicans that have trashed this country with their filthy corruption, deceit, and narcissism. Trickle down economics does not work and is a fantasy. It has never worked. This is because the Republicans pocket all the profit, rape taxpayers, and pillaged the American treasure. America the beautiful is now America the broke. The USA now has a 9 Trillion dollar debt. Like an irresponsible teenager with credit cards, Bush and Co. financed their War with Bonds sold to the Chinese. In addition to this, Bush took a 200 Billion surplus and created a 500 Billion dollar debt. You may as well call us the United States of China now. OBAMA/BIDEN 2008

this entire crisis is due to government involvement in the mortgage industry, NOT deregulation--as liberals would like you to believe.

there was a reason why people of certain credit profiles could not get a mortgage: they were not a good risk. enter freddie mac and fannie mae, who were charged with offering below market rate mortgages.

the result? the subprime mortgage crisis happens, freddie and fannie need to be bailed out, and people assume this is somehow related to DE-regulation.

and these are the same people who were blaming "speculators" for spiraling oil costs.

Anonymous- Once again you demonstrate for the readers of the Washington post your 2nd grade, probably underemployed intellect by posting your McCain/Hatch Act post in MY name, because you're ashamed to use your own. You're as shameful as the Naked Emperor who went to Iraq to PROLONG the war!

_____________________________

National Review

Monday, September 15, 2008

Did Obama Violate The Logan Act? [Jonah Goldberg]

Amir Taheri:

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
____

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975).

OBAMA CAME TO NEGOTIATE A POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT DELAY IN THE WITHDRAWL OF OUR TROOPS- WAS HE AFRAID THE "100 YEARS WAR" CLAIM WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE JOKE IT ALWAYS WAS?

WHAT A HYPOCRITE !!!

WELL AT LEAST HE'LL HAVE ONE MORE THING IN COMMON WITH MCGOVERN AFTER NOVEMBER!

Get real. Bill Clinton? You are extremely desperate trying to blame a president who has not been in office for almost 8 years. If he did so bad, why didn't the GOP fix it in 7 1/2 years. The most ludicrous post I read today.

How out of touch Mcsame can be. He still believes the fundamentals of our economy are strong. If you are like jhon Mcain who has 9 houses and a net worth of more than 100 millions dollars, then you can feel free to say the same thing. People are losing their homes and their jobs, businesses are failing right and left, and this guys has been so detached from our realities that he has the gall to run on change. What is he going to change? He already agreed 100% with Bushism policies and plan on continue that trend. Only stupid people with no rational behavior will continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. The Choice is clear. We must change course otherwise America are bound to become a third world country in just one short generation.

"As for McCain, think about the "hidden tax" you're going to pay when he eliminates the tax exclusion for your employer-provided health insurance. I hope you're healthy because buying insurance on your own is going to cost a bundle."

-LPLT

I agree. Here's what working Americans, including the Reagan Democrats, are up against:-

The cost of employer-provided family health insurance : $12,100 (average)

What McCain promises IN ITS PLACE: $5,000 (taxable.)

Abracadabra! You better be a voodoo expert because what the McCain scheme boils down to is this: you have to shop for health insurance for your family that costs $12,100 with $5,000 (less taxes) in your pocket. Good luck! I hope you meet a sugar daddy along the way.

Actually, I haven't seen McCain in 2 weeks. Where the hell is he? What is he doing? Is he the candidate or is Palin? And if he does show up again, what will he say? And what will he do if he's elected? I honestly have no idea.

I'm not happy we're in the middle of an economic crisis, but if that's what it takes to force the media to cover the candidates based on their positions instead of the daily political soap operas, maybe it will be a good thing in the long run.

Posted by: Sally | September 15, 2008 5:54 PM
*************
No Sally- Hypocrisy-
Claiming McCain wanted a 100 year war, Obama went to Iraq and negotiated a DELAYED exit for our troops!
How can that Not bother you Sally?

And Corn Ethanol...

And the his opposition to the Infant Protection Act...

And Tony Rezko....

And Bill Ayres...

*********
National Review

Monday, September 15, 2008

Did Obama Violate The Logan Act? [Jonah Goldberg]

Amir Taheri:

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
____

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975).

OBAMA CAME TO NEGOTIATE A POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT DELAY IN THE WITHDRAWL OF OUR TROOPS- WAS HE AFRAID THE "100 YEARS WAR" CLAIM WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE JOKE IT ALWAYS WAS?

WHAT A HYPOCRITE !!!

WELL AT LEAST HE'LL HAVE ONE MORE THING IN COMMON WITH MCGOVERN AFTER NOVEMBER!

If McCain had picked Romney, I would have seriously considered voting for him given the state of the economy. But the Palin pick showed me he has no interest in assembling a team that can make any difference in Washington. I'm concerned about Obama's experience, but he at least seems to want to fix some of the problems we have. And Bill Clinton managed the economy better than any republican, so I say give the (democrat) kid a chance.

Luckily, you are not a U.S. citzen / voter? I am unsure how your logic about "fight so hard to be equal to a man" applies IF Gov. Palin actually becomes Vice President or President. Also, no one is saying that rape victims have to raise the baby themself.

"The Democratic nominee does score higher than McCain on the economy, but not by as much as he should...."

As he should?

What in Obama's limited experience gives him any financial chops?

Is it his discredited promises to cut taxes for 95% of the middle class, increase spending on education, the military, energy research, blah blah, and reduce the deficit all while paying for a new national healthcare program?

All Obaby can do is try to assign blame to Bush & McCain. That's what American have come to expect from Obaby. They don't expect him to have any credible plan or a way to implement one. All he can offer is empty words. Barry is fooling a smaller amount of voters daily as reflected in his falling poll numbers. You can only BS and try to assign blame to the Bush administration for so long. Americans know what the last 8 years were about. They want to hear concrete plans about the future and not more esoteric BS from Barry.

HOW YOU ASK?.......Just look at the fact that John McBush is even still in this contest......AND HE IS USING SARA PALIN AND ALL YOU WOMEN....TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS WHEN SHE RAPED SHE HAS TO RAISE THAT BABY CUZ OF SOMEONE ELSE'S INSANE IDEA!!! WHEN YOU SON IS SHOT IN RUSSIA, WHICH WILL BE THE NEXT WAR, BE HAPPY BECAUSE YOU VOTED FOR MCBUSH WHO REINSTATED THE DRAFT....WHEN WE WOMEN WHO HAVE FOUGHT SO HARD TO BE EQUAL TO A MAN, WELL, ALL THAT IS GONE THANKS TO THE PALIN-MCBUSH PRESIDENCEY!!!

Great post Monk. It is indeed the Republicans that have trashed this country with their filthy corruption, deceit, and narcissism. Trickle down economics does not work and is a fantasy. It has never worked. This is because the Republicans pocket all the profit, rape taxpayers, and pillaged the American treasure. America the beautiful is now America the broke. The USA now has a 9 Trillion dollar debt. Like an irresponsible teenager with credit cards, Bush and Co. financed their War with Bonds sold to the Chinese. In addition to this, Bush took a 200 Billion surplus and created a 500 Billion dollar debt. You may as well call us the United States of China now. OBAMA/BIDEN 2008

Posted by: Sally | September 15, 2008 5:54 PM
*************
No Sally- Hypocrisy-
Claiming McCain wanted a 100 year war, Obama went to Iraq and negotiated a DELAYED exit for our troops!
How can that Not bother you Sally?

And Corn Ethanol...

And the his opposition to the Infant Protection Act...

And Tony Rezko....

And Bill Ayres...

*********
National Review

Monday, September 15, 2008

Did Obama Violate The Logan Act? [Jonah Goldberg]

Amir Taheri:

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
____

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975).

OBAMA CAME TO NEGOTIATE A POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT DELAY IN THE WITHDRAWL OF OUR TROOPS- WAS HE AFRAID THE "100 YEARS WAR" CLAIM WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE JOKE IT ALWAYS WAS?

WHAT A HYPOCRITE !!!

WELL AT LEAST HE'LL HAVE ONE MORE THING IN COMMON WITH MCGOVERN AFTER NOVEMBER!

I read these comments on here and I am just amazed at the stupidity and ignorance of so many of you....and we as a Nation ask ourselves why are our childeren underperforming against Ctrs such as Japan and China.....FIRST REASON.....AMERICANS ARE LAZY.....WE WILL TAKE WHAT SOMEONE SAYS, NO MATTER IF IT IS A LIE, ADOPT IT AS OUR OWN, AND ACTUALLY BELEIVE IT, EVEN WHEN INCONVERTIBLE FACTS ARE BROUGHT TO YOUR ATTENTION TO SHOW YOU THAT WHAT IS BEING SAID IS NOT TRUE......

HOW YOU ASK?.......Just look at the fact that John McBush is even still in this contest......AND HE IS USING SARA PALIN AND ALL YOU WOMEN....TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS WHEN SHE RAPED SHE HAS TO RAISE THAT BABY CUZ OF SOMEONE ELSE'S INSANE IDEA!!! WHEN YOU SON IS SHOT IN RUSSIA, WHICH WILL BE THE NEXT WAR, BE HAPPY BECAUSE YOU VOTED FOR MCBUSH WHO REINSTATED THE DRAFT....WHEN WE WOMEN WHO HAVE FOUGHT SO HARD TO BE EQUAL TO A MAN, WELL, ALL THAT IS GONE THANKS TO THE PALIN-MCBUSH PRESIDENCEY!!!

McCain is a really an Elitist in my realistic world because Sydney is out there riding a bus to NoWhere while the country is going to Hell. Politicians are promising change tomorrow. CHANGE STARTS TODAY !!!

McCain has failed to secure our borders. Today we have more evidence that our economic security is in peril and Palin has done nothing as Govenor of the State of Alaska to reduce our dependence on Foreign Oils. So once again we see whereby four more years of lip service by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney clones will continue to threaten our securities especially our economic securities here at home.

Remember the Party of the Neocons does not believe in protectionism. In centuries past the models of neocons would invade the Heart of Darkness for their own mercantilist gains. That is to say colonialism was capitalistically generated. And what was the result, failures of empires ? And so neglecting the welfare of our nation at home such as Social Security and Healthcare to pursue thinktank borne idealisms which very rarely achieve objectives, remember Vietnam, gives us economic meltdowns which threaten global stablility through the devaluation of the United States dollar itself.

Years ago, President Clinton warned the current powers that accumulating piles of debt would devalue the dollar and now it does look like we are a third rate, third world nation, pathetic. Oh but we will not tolerate bipartisanship heeding President Clinton's advice now will we ? No, in fact let Cheney threaten to nuke our own Senate.

America is willing to embrace or tolerate this global embarrassment for four more years, I think not. I have had enough of these Elitists oblivious to the needs of the Common man.

HEY YOU LIMP WRISTED FINGER-POINTING WHINEY DUMBOCRATZ....IS THERE ANY SLIGHT CHANCE THAT....WELL.....MAYBE 9-11 SORTA HAD A LITTLE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS DILLEMA WE ARE FACING???? I MEAN LIKE, AFTER ALL, PRESIDENT CLINTON HAD TWO DOCUMENTED CHANCES TO INCARCERATE OSAMA BIN LADEN (SOUNDS SO SIMILAR TO BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA)BUT DECLINED BECAUSE HE HAD TOO LIMP OF A WRIST OR HE WAS GETTING A HUMMER FROM MONICKA WITH THE ROUND LIPS IN THE OVAL OFFICE.

Wino beer belly::
It had solely to do with the US stationing troops in Saudie Arabia. They think we are a pretty dirty group and don"t want our troops spoiling their sacred land that is ,of, course their right.
However the're pretty dirty too, they whipe their butst with their
bare hand, so I don"t even know why we wanted to be there.
Some people will do anything for oil.
Daniel J. Screed
Posted by: DUMBOCRATZ WHINE | September 15, 2008 6:21 PM

It's all in their head. Just ask Phil Gramm, McCain's economic "guru." Whiners.

But seriously folks -- particularly you conservative fanatic nutjobs. Reap the whirlwind. While you're blovating about lipstick and lapel pins, the country is sinking fast into a depression thanks to Republicans. Hmmm. Last time this happened, when another conservative nearly wrecked the country, it took a visionary democrat -- as usual -- to save it.

Let's hope for Obama.

But hey, if not, what's a little depression, right? McCain can always launch world war III, like he and caribou barbie seem bent on doing. That way, we won't have to worry about a wrecked economy.

I don't want the death penalty for your hypothetical daughter any more than I wanted it for Andrea Yates -- both should be treated equally though -- as for employer-provided halth care, I'm retired, but even if I were not, abortion is a bigger issue than any increase in my personal expenses.

To anonymous who blames the democrats in control for the last 2 years for all of the financial problems. You are living in a fantasy world. This has taken Bush and the republican congress 7 years to create this mess. The past 2 years you are referring too, the democratic congress has only had a simple majority (51) in the senate. It takes a super majority of 60 to be able to withstand a Bush veto. Bush has felt free to use the veto or the threat of a veto to continue his failed policies and McCain said today the fiscal fundamentals are still sound!!!!!

He is as clueless as you are. The comments on this and other blogs from people from other countries are correct that the fact that this is even close just backs up how utterly uninformed the general population is about political and world matters.

So, JakeD, you want the death penalty for girls who are raped by their fathers and then have an abortion? That's very Christian of you.

As for McCain, think about the "hidden tax" you're going to pay when he eliminates the tax exclusion for your employer-provided health insurance. I hope you're healthy because buying insurance on your own is going to cost a bundle.

HEY YOU LIMP WRISTED FINGER-POINTING WHINEY DUMBOCRATZ....IS THERE ANY SLIGHT CHANCE THAT....WELL.....MAYBE 9-11 SORTA HAD A LITTLE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS DILLEMA WE ARE FACING???? I MEAN LIKE, AFTER ALL, PRESIDENT CLINTON HAD TWO DOCUMENTED CHANCES TO INCARCERATE OSAMA BIN LADEN (SOUNDS SO SIMILAR TO BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA)BUT DECLINED BECAUSE HE HAD TOO LIMP OF A WRIST OR HE WAS GETTING A HUMMER FROM MONICKA WITH THE ROUND LIPS IN THE OVAL OFFICE.

Is this the same columnist who said over the weekend that the Obama campaign had made up problems with the economy? That things aren't really as bad as he portrays them? Or was that someone else at the Post?

John McCain jumped on this as an opportunity for his campaign. (What an opportunist.) His ads said something about him and whatshername cleaning up Wall Street! Can you imagine? Isn’t this the same John McCain that cleaned up on the savings and loan scandal? Isn’t this the Keating Five John McCain who was slapped by the senate for *poor judgement*? I can’t wait to see John and Sarah reform Wall Street, and just how much is that going to cost the surviving bankers? (Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.)

The DEMOCRATS have been in control for the past 2 years. In that time, this country economic system has fallen apart.
WHY?
Ask Senator Chris DODD, the Democrat Senator from CT that was head of the banking committee! Then ask LIAR Obama. He knows the truth and it is coming out. ALL $100,000 PLUS that he received from the lending industry. He is a fraud and a liar. This whole failed banking/lending industr was the genius of the Democrats and they were well paid for it!

And today's politics have become the B Movie of all time, with scripts hashed together as if by teenagers, and not even making the slightest sense.
Just as one leaves the movie theater wondering why on earth one bothered to go in the first place, one quits reading today's newspapers and wonders why one bothered to open them.

Perhaps some good will come of all this.
Perhaps people who enjoy wisdom will start talking to each other and sharing ideas again, instead of logging on.

The economic meltdown is brought to you by GOP economic policies. Tax cut, borrow, and spend has ballooned our deficits. Deregulation of the banking and Wall Street set the shadow economy that appears to have no underpinnings. Bank CEOs had their eyes on short term profits with huge impacts on long term stability.

Bush's 8 year term will be book ended by Enron and the collapse of Lehman. The economic carnage in the middle should leave no doubt that Republican governance and a strong economy can't be said in the same sentence.

Scary thing is that McCain wants to double down on Bush economic policies. It makes sense since his economic advisers are the same people who brought us the Bush disaster and who continue to claim that the fundamentals of our economy are strong and the problems we are experiencing are just figments of our imagination. I guess I am just "whining" though.

".... As usual, a lot of smoke, mirrors and huge piles of BS.. or was that moose sh*t at the GOP convention?? Drill baby drill sounded like something out of a porn movie. No wonder it played well with the base. If only Ted Haggard could have made a speech too.

Posted by: Jim | September 15, 2008 5:34 PM "

All we saw was people wrapping themselves in the flag and chanting Country First...reminds me VERY much of Germany in the 1930's at the height of the Nazi power... Funny and we even have a Joe Goebbels runnning the operations this time around. What a DIVISIVE message they sent out. As for this current joke, if the Repubs know how to fix the mess they created over the past 7 years with the help of the FED (both Greenspud and bermonkey) then why the he** don't they DO SOMEThING NOW to fix the corruption on Wall Street? Bah...Stupid politicians.

I was somewhat relived to see yet another article that mentions the fact that for the past 50 years the economy has always done better when Democrats are in control. I think the Republicans have somehow managed to convince some people that they are the party of fiscal responsibility, shen all the data convincingly shows the opposite to be true. It seems to have become a part of the Republicancampaign stratigy that if the facts don't favor your position than you simply make up your own facts.

I am an independent voter. I voted for Perot, Bush 2000 (but certainly not after the Iraq invasion), Kerry 04 and Clinton in 96, so I think I can claim to not favor a particular party. I am wealthy enough that the Bush tax cuts were beneficial to me, But even with the potential for a personal gain I cannot stand by and watch the Republicans destroy Americas economy. The numbers don't lie, the economy always does better when Democrats are in power. The economy grows faster, the deficit either decreases of increases less quickly, and probably most importantly the disparity in wealth decreases when Democrats control government.

If we allow another Republican to threaten vetos when ever the Democrats try to put controls on Wallstreet, or when they try and balance the budget, or increase taxes on the wealthiest people and corparations in the country, we will see this country lose it's place as the worlds greatest economy for the first time in a century.

WELL AL JARDA, I KNOW HOW RUDE IT WAS OF THE REPUBLICANS NOT TO PROTECT US ON 9-11 WITH THEIR X-RAY VISION, MENTAL TELEPATHY & MIND READING SKILLS MY DEAR FRIEND. BUT LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE, THEY WIPED YOUR BUTT, ZIPPED UP YOUR FLY AND WAITED OUTSIDE THE MCDONALDS FOR YOU EVERY LUNCHBREAK JUST SO THEY COULD GET YOUR DOOR FOR YOU. NO MORE FREE LUNCH FOR YOU MISTER!!!!!

WELL AL JARDA, I KNOW HOW RUDE IT WAS OF THE REPUBLICANS NOT TO PROTECT US ON 9-11 WITH THEIR X-RAY VISION, MENTAL TELEPATHY & MIND READING SKILLS MY DEAR FRIEND. BUT LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE, THEY WIPED YOUR BUTT, ZIPPED UP YOUR FLY AND WAITED OUTSIDE THE MCDONALDS FOR YOU EVERY LUNCHBREAK JUST SO THEY COULD GET YOUR DOOR FOR YOU. NO MORE FREE LUNCH FOR YOU MISTER!!!!!

WELL AL JARDA, I KNOW HOW RUDE IT WAS OF THE REPUBLICANS NOT TO PROTECT US ON 9-11 WITH THEIR X-RAY VISION, MENTAL TELEPATHY & MIND READING SKILLS MY DEAR FRIEND. BUT LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE, THEY WIPED YOUR BUTT, ZIPPED UP YOUR FLY AND WAITED OUTSIDE THE MCDONALDS FOR YOU EVERY LUNCHBREAK JUST SO THEY COULD GET YOUR DOOR FOR YOU. NO MORE FREE LUNCH FOR YOU MISTER!!!!!

WELL AL JARDA, I KNOW HOW RUDE IT WAS OF THE REPUBLICANS NOT TO PROTECT US ON 9-11 WITH THEIR X-RAY VISION, MENTAL TELEPATHY & MIND READING SKILLS MY DEAR FRIEND. BUT LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE, THEY WIPED YOUR BUTT, ZIPPED UP YOUR FLY AND WAITED OUTSIDE THE MCDONALDS FOR YOU EVERY LUNCHBREAK JUST SO THEY COULD GET YOUR DOOR FOR YOU. NO MORE FREE LUNCH FOR YOU MISTER!!!!!

John McWar actually was once in the same city as greenspud---THAT should make him an expert on financial management (BUT that assumes that Greenspud is an expert and we have seen the disasters he caused the US economy.) Unlike his buddy Bush, Greenspan actually acknowledged that his call on deflation and his dramatic reduction in interest rates (that actually started this downward spiral) was WRONG. Some consolation to Americans who are now seeing the country implode! Thanks Greenspan, Thanks Bush. With Friends like you we don't need enemies like Alkaida.

The agreement in question is the Bush plan to establish a permanent US military presence in Iraq. That's the agreement that Bush refuses to submit to the Senate for ratification. Bush is trying to tie the hands of the next administration, no matter who that turns out to be.

We should all be demanding that this agreement be delayed until after the election.

Let me think which Party had majority and was responsible not just for 9/11 attack when they were unable to protect us but they were responsible for economy as well/ No Democratic Party but REPUBLICANS. So please all Republicans surrogate spare me your whining and accept FAILURE as it is.

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Just comments on objectivity:
1. Note that Mr. Balz set up the story relying on a Democratic strategist.
2. Note that he says Sen. McCain must answer for what happened on Bush's watch and how his administration would be different. Yet, Mr. Balz does not suggest who should answer for the Democrat who is head of the Senate banking committee. Nor does he say who should answer for the fact that Sen. Obama received the 3rd highest amount of lobbying donations from Freddie Mac, according to CNN last night. (BTW, Sen. Dodd, head of the banking comm. was No. 1 recipient, according to CNN.)
Isn't it interesting how adding or ignoring a few facts can change the whole tenor of a story!

DUMBOCRATZ MESS:
no doubt you feel (because I"m sure you can"t thinK) the issue of the 4 billion humans could be solved by some big canvass surrounded with rope being constantly bloodied. Go back to your beer and 300, or some other beer bellies fantasy.
Screed

REPUBLICANS CAME IN WITH A 290 BILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS AND HAVE DRIVEN OUR ECONOMIC BUS RIGHT OFF THE CLIFF TO WHERE WE ARE NOW IN 357 BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT. Our debt is now over 9.7 Trillion. All the while we are spending 10 billion a month in Iraq a wart we should not be in. Whomever believes that we are better off now go ahead and vote for Mc Same but don't come a crying when the bus hits the ground. We are in an economic mess of huge proportions and this is all on the Republican watch folks. VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA and lets start getting out of this Republican led mess. Mc Same is lying on everything including his economic policies and those of Barack Obama. You know it is bad when even the puppet master Karl Rove says they are lying too much. YES WE CAN get some common sense back America go back to the Democrats!

It is amazing the democrat’s refuse to take any responsibility for this financial fiasco,
especially since they have had control of the “ House Committee On Financial Services”
for the past two years. Why have they not called for an investigation on this ? The fall of
Lehman is bigger than Enron. What does Chairman Barney Frank have to say about this
one ? Why is he so quiet ? Read between the lines, The democrat’s have been in control
of both houses of congress for the past two years what have they done to stop it ?
NOTHING !!!!!!! Why won’t Obama ask THE DEMOCRAT CHAIRMAN OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES “ BARNEY FRANK” why he did
not act to resolve the problems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before they had to be
bailed out, it is not like they didn’t see this coming !!!!!!!

Never mind your spin ! The GOP IS to blame for this god-damned mess. Deregulation in the financial sectors have led to this mess. As for the 'housing crisis' - see Bush speech 5 years ago about how deregulation has led to great gains in home ownership... Yes- and now home foreclosure. Great Job!

MY, MY, SUCH A PRETTY POSTING THERE DANIELLE. SUCH A PRETTY COOKIE-CUTTER
SIMPLETON ATTCK ON A GUY WHO HAS DEMONSTRATED HE HAS BALLZ OF IRON, DECLINING EARLY RELEASE FROM THE HANOI HILTON BECAUSE HE WOULDN'T LEAVE UNLESS THE OTHER CAPTIVES WERE RELEASED TOO. KNOWING HE WOULD BE ENDURING MORE TORTURE.
DANNY, I'LL BET SARAH COULD KICK THE SNOT OUT OF YOUR SPINELESS LIMP WRISTED SELF WITH ONE HAND TIED BEHIND HER BACK, HANDILY.

So... McCain (and the hockey mom who cannot convince her daughter not to get pregnant by a high school dropout) are going to reform Wall Street. Do you really think either one of them ever took a high school economics class? AND we have McCain going to push for regulation? Last week his heroes (and mentors) were Gramm and Reagan. I am surprised McCain does not have Keating (the felon) heading his campaign. Anyone else remember Judge Ito and the Mother Teresa letter? Did Mother Teresa promise to write the letter if Cindy would adopt a kid? Stangely enough, we did not see much real history about McCain at the convention. As usual, a lot of smoke, mirrors and huge piles of BS.. or was that moose sh*t at the GOP convention?? Drill baby drill sounded like something out of a porn movie. No wonder it played well with the base. If only Ted Haggard could have made a speech too.

We need some regulation of our markets. All of them stock, housing, commodities, banking, etc. An example is a 50% daily drop in price freezes trading in that item. Government regulators then can remove the block if demise is imminent and give everyone a fair break on their shares. It could be a rumor like the airline one that drives a fearful financial sector. The government is on the hook for too much already, and letting Lehman crash was a wise choice. If this regulation was in place people would not have worthless shares. Some audit functions on markets should also be done to look for the IRS type red flags for out of sync jumps. We should receive policy, not talk from our candidates.

SCOTT, HANDS DOWN, YOU ARE THE STUPIDEST DEMOCRAT I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED IN MY LIFE. IF YOU THINK ANYONE CARES ABOUT THE PETTY LIES YOU SPIN ABOUT MCCLAIN, YOU ARE THE KING-STUPIDEST MORON MASTER. GET A LIFE YOU PATHETIC RODENT.

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
____

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975).

OBAMA CAME TO NEGOTIATE A POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT DELAY IN THE WITHDRAWL OF OUR TROOPS- WAS HE AFRAID THE "100 YEARS WAR" CLAIM WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE JOKE IT ALWAYS WAS?

WHAT A HYPOCRITE !!!

WELL AT LEAST HE'LL HAVE ONE MORE THING IN COMMON WITH MCGOVERN AFTER NOVEMBER!

Lets put this bluntly, the US economy is in it;s the worst crisis since 1929, and in a much more complicated overall enviorment than it was then.
Only people of superior intellectual gifts are capable of dealing with this problematic.
Even discussing and working this out with the specialist from Harvard MIT and Cambridge etc. necessitates a superior mind.

Lets be frank: McCain is little more then a straw man intellectually.
He was 2nd from the bottom of his class at a pretty good college that he only got into because of his family connections.
One more parallel to Bush here- except Bush graduated in the bottom 10%s in a somewhat better school- where he did indeed get accepted because of family also.

This is not the man that we want in complicated times.
He is, after, all intellectually not gifted, truthfully he is challenged if we would be polite. Challenged- we can't have this inferior mental material leading us.

This is not a situation where being able to sit in a nasty dank filthy prison for 8 years is of any help.
Any more then it would be in doing organic chemistry, or fourth dimensional differential equations.

Lest be fair McCain is out of touch and a bit of a simpleton.

We deserve better, if we wish to continue to survive as a first world nation.

And most CEO's don't want to educate your kids, or pay for your police department: they have their own schools and cops. They don't want to share highways with you, wait in security lines at the airport with you, or send their children into the military to serve with yours.

In fact, they're sick and tired of paying for your retirement, and your health insurance too. That's why they're hiring John McCain to run this country.

Obama's like a prissy schoolkid annoyed with everyone dumber than him, I agree. But as an independent who neither party has decided to put on their payroll, I gotta go with the better tax package he'll give.

To all the Republicans posting here about taxes - out of curiosity, you know that unless you make more than $200K a year, McCain's going to tax the hell out of us the middle class right? The tax break for the middle class is the only thing BO's got right, IMO.

McCain says "We will stop multimillion-dollar payouts to CEOs who have broken the public trust."

Under Hewlett-Packard's severance agreement, Carly Fiorina, now one of McCains top economic advisors, received $21 million in cash, which was 2.5 times her base annual salary. On March 8, 2006, two large institutional investors filed suit against Hewlett-Packard for violating its own severance cap when it doled out a multimillion-dollar payment to Fiorina as part of her termination agreement

Sounds like John McCain will stop multimillion dollar payouts to CEO's by having them help him run the Country.

This whole McCain campaign would be quite funny if it wasn't so very real

We are in for a rough ride with more resetting adjustables. The sub-a number is one trillion, and the less bad subprime 689 billion. Yes kiddies when everyone had refinanced or bought homes by 04 the market would flatten and take the economy down a bit. 20% of mortgage securities were subprime and sub-a, instead of the usual 5-10%. The investment banks kept the housing boom up by financing the subprime beyond wise risk taking. Prices flattened and dropped from inflated buyers prices to more reasonable amounts and the industry takes a hit. McCain says he will not let them do it. My question sir is how, I'm tired of speeches without platform to back it. Your going to increase government by regulating the markets or do we rely on your say so? The Federal government and house committees in the Senate and House did not look at where the markets were headed and are now in reactive mode, instead of proactive to stop further market erosion.

Then you should vote out Nancy Pelosi for putting impeachment "off the table".

el_barto:

No, it does not -- posting a "true threat" on the Internet is sufficient -- under the "willfulness" requirement, such speech is a threat if: 1) the defendant intentionally makes a statement, whether written or oral; 2) the statement is made in a context or under such circumstances that a reasonable person would foresee that the statement would be interpreted by those to whom it was communicated as a serious expression of intent to inflict harm; and 3) the statement is not the result of mistake, duress or coercion.

In recent weeks, John McCain and the Republican Party have blatantly and without any shame adopted the Democratic campaign theme of “change”. It should be evident to an objective observer that Bush 43 and now McCain and Pailin are mere puppets to the true Republican national party leaders who control their strings. Cheney is one of the few of that inner cabal that have been calling the shots since the Nixon administration. They are in fact a continuation of the Nixon and Ford presidencies with only a disruption during the Carter and Clinton years. Bush 41( Head of the RNC during Nixon, former head of the CIA,VP to Reagan, and president is probably the real leader of this political Cosa Nostra if not a equal partner of this power sharing musical chairs game. His right and left hands have been Dick Cheney(former Sec.of Defense of Bush 41, former White House Chief of staff for Ford) and the other is Donald Rumsfeld(former Sec. of Defense for Ford and Bush 43,former special envoy to the Middle East during Reagan). Another member of this group, more likely a captain if not a full blown boss himself is James Baker (former C.O.S of Reagan, former Under Sec. of Commerce for Ford, former C.O.S and Sec of State for Bush 41, former Sec. of Treasury for Reagan, former chief legal advisor to Bush 43). Another captain or free lance enforcer is Karl Rove a college drop out and campaign manager for both Bush 41 and 43, also for Phil Gram who is McCain’s economic advisor.
Lets look at McCain’s staff of change.
On July 2, 2008, Steve Schmidt was given "full operational control" of McCain's campaign. Steve Schmidt prior to this was a top aide to Dick Cheney and a protégé to Karl Rove. Another advisor is Charles R. Black worked for Ronald Reagan's two Presidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980 and he was a senior political adviser to the 1992 re-election campaign of George H.W. Bush. Another advisor is Randy Scheunemann. He was project director for the Project for the New American Century. A neo-conservative think tank founded by non other than Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Bill Kristol and others in 1996. Other signatories to this group reads like a who’s who of the last 8 years of the republican administration.
These people have never cared about small town america or “values” All they care about is war profiteering. Many of the signatories have never served in the military. Cheney and Rove both dodged the draft. Look at the statement of principles by the PNAC. Rumsfeld was a good friend of Saddam Huessin in the 80’s Cheney didn’t want Nelson Mandela free. These are the real puppet masters, they throw out the talking points about the left of being elitist and not caring about middle america and these same guys other than Rove have advanced degrees and are worth no less than 10 million dollars. People who support them need to extricate their heads out of Limbaugh and Hannity’s asses and see what is really happening to them. McCain is not his own man he confuses stories of his real life with a book he read “The Gulag Archipelago", in which a fellow prisoner - not a guard - silently drew a cross in the dirt with a stick.” An ironic twist to all this is Eliot A. Cohen, a signatory to the PNAC "Statement of Principles", responded in The Washington Post: "There is no evidence that generals as a class make wiser national security policymakers than civilians. George C. Marshall, our greatest soldier statesman after George Washington, opposed shipping arms to Britain in 1940. His boss, Franklin D. Roosevelt, with nary a day in uniform, thought otherwise. Whose judgment looks better?"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/2581086/John-McCain-accused-of-plagiarising-Wikipedia-for-speeches.html. Even if you don’t like Obama there is no-way a sane person can want this continued blatant fleecing of our Nation.
Thes are all verifiable facts and can be found just with a google search. AIPAC and PNAC are the military industrial complex.
Other than the ultra affluent, how can anyone support the Republican Party? When will small town America realize that they are being duped into supporting the ultra-affluent agenda? The talking points of the right are so hypocritical that it becomes laughable. The red meat of the right is the so called Main stream Media as if Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. are not part of it. They demean celebrity status, however they tout one of their greatest presidents(Reagan) was an actor. They say they are the party of patriotism, yet many of the upper echelon of the party have never served, i.e. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Baker, Reagan. They say that they care about "Main Street" USA but only bail out the Whales of Wall Street. Yet small town America eat this tripe every year. They don't care about religion unless it can be used to stir up the base, nor science or technology unless there is a buck to be made. Small town America takes pride on its freedom but yet don't realize that over time we are becoming less free, ie wire tapping and other forms of domestic surveillance. They demean people of intelligence because they know many people of small town America don't have degrees and use it at a fake issue and call people who spent time in academia as elitist when many on the right serve on university boards and have part-time professorships. They say they are against affirmitive action but yet celebrate mediocrity, Bush43 and McCain graduating at the bottom of their classes. Who both came from already well established families and had all the opportunities and connections to excel. Why does small town America believes this is the party for them? Christian conservatives seem to the be the first ones who want to go to war and bomb someone before any diplomacy is tried. Why can't small town America and Christian conservatives realize they are being used as pawns just as much the Islamic fundamentalist are. Islamic fundamentalist come from small town Middle East and given the same kind of talking points as the evangelicals. They want prayer in school, no choice available to women, and believe to the core that their ideas about worship and country are the best. Wake up small town America you are being duped.Talking about who is more patriotic, symbols, lipstick and wearing pins are nothing more than distractions to the real issue of how a few select group of people have held power almost continuously for over 30 years. Yes the left has their own political power groups but none have been so effective at pushing forward an agenda that is fundamentally bad for the U.S. and in a larger view the entire world. I stress again the now defunct PNAC and the AIPAC have been slowly pushing us closer to another World War. Bush41 and et al have been doing this and no one calls them on it. Every Republican administration has basically the same people recycled since Nixon. Just do a little research and you will see that these people are just pushing this agenda of some kind of Pax Americana and not taking into account that maybe other nations of the world might not like that and if not bomb them.Many people who support the Republican party, really need to read "1984" by George Orwell and see how we as nation have been inching closer to that type of society. People think this story is about a communist society, but it is more about how a society is kept in a constant state of fear in order for the ruling class to stay in control. Doublespeak, patriotism to the point of frenzy, censorship, erosion of civil liberties (not respecting the Constitution) is happening right in front of us. The consolidation of government (the executive branch has never been more powerful than ever, gridlocked legislature with only two parties for representation, a judiciary that just kowtows to the executive branch). No real independent journalism. Cameras placed on every street corner. This may sound like delusional conspiracy stuff, but I implore people to research for themselves to really see what is happening to them. People think this could never happen here in the U.S. but all this has already happening, slowly, incrementally all under the guise of "keeping America safe

In a twisted sort of way I almost hope that McCain does win this election because four more years of Bush/McCain failed policies would for all intents and purposes end the Republican Party as we know it today. They would become the 4th party gadflies that they deserve to be.

For all of you idiots in economic downtrodden states like Ohio, Pa and Michigan, you'll deserve what you get if you are actually stupid enough to vote for John McBush and Caribou Barbie..

I am not voting for either of these two idiots. Ill be writing in Huckabee. I have a neihbor who will be writing in Hillary. I have sent off for a 2012 Huckabee sign., That is the sign I will have in my yard this election., I told my neihbor and he said he will get a Hillary 2012 Sign. LOL The funny thing is, There are no Obama or McCain signs on my street. In Ohio, We dont really like either of these Candidates. Feel Like We Do You can Go to Skip08 and order your candidates 2012 election sign, put it up for protest. http://www.skip08.com

I am not going to settle this year. I will write in a much more qualified candidate.

18 USC § 871. Threats against President and successors to the Presidency

HERE IS MY THREAT;
There is credible evidence that both President Bush and Vice President abused the power of their offices, bringing us into an unnecessary war and violating the civil liberties and privacy of American citizens. It is the constitutional duty of Congress to hold impeachment hearings.

18 USC § 871. Threats against President and successors to the Presidency

(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon ... the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

on the other hand, as long as you chose to include 'mutual responsibility' you lose me. The door that leaves open is simply to large.

I do not want to pay to teach you english. I do not want to pay for your children you had you could not afford and I absolutely do not want to pay your bills because of choices you made in life.

if you have 8 kids and can't afford to eat at Chili's or even McDonalds. That is your choice. You had the kids.

and don't throw me exceptional cases. I realize there will always be exceptions or extreme circumstances.

Until you find a way around increasing the welfare roles of socialism, neither I, nor most reasonable people in the USA will ever 'sign on'. and God Bless the media and hollywood, Lord knows they do their best to get everyone onboard.

but, I do agree that corporate america needs some sort of balance. How, I am not sure. Because if you kill capitalism at all, you kill all of it potentially.

bring me a way to have my cake and eat it to and i will get you all the votes you want.

John McCain took a trip to south america—billed as official Congressional travel--with his two colleagues Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. It’s been reported that prior to the trip, John McCain spoke to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at around 4pm and Uribe gave him some highlights of the operation to spring the hostages. When the Senators had dinner with Uribe that night, they were briefed on the operation but none revealed it because they said it was “classified.”

When McCain was asked about the operation once the hostages were freed, he revealed the fact that he’d been briefed, and praised the operation.

Here’s the problem, there’s a law known as the Logan Act that reads:

"Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."

The conversation with Uribe definitely qualifies as "correspondence or intercourse" and we have a "controversy" with the Colombian government because the United States has been on their back for years to get these hostages freed. To be sure, the trip itself was cleared by the US government, but that's different from State expressly allowing McCain to have a direct "classified” conversation with President Uribe about an ongoing controversy. If McCain was going to have private conversations with a foreign leader, the conversation itself would have to be cleared.

John McCain’s conversation with Uribe raises some serious questions that make more investigation necessary. Namely:

Was John McCain’s conversation with Uribe classified?
Did McCain have prior approval for this conversation?
Did McCain’s staff (or that of Liebermann’s or Graham’s) clear the content of the conversation with Uribe through the State Department?
Once McCain knew this information, did he—in good faith—make that information known to the State Department?
When asked about it, McCain’s aide reportedly said:

"I don't think that there is an established protocol" for such briefings, said a McCain aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity. " 'Protocol' is not a word I would associate with this."

Perhaps there isn’t protocol, but there are laws. And for someone who wants to have the top job of enforcing them, voters deserve to know the due diligence he did on this trip to ensure that he upheld the same laws that govern our diplomats.

Questions are also circulating about McCain’s recent trip to Canada . It too was billed as not being political but rather Senatorial. Therefore, he needs to act like a senator, and not as a presidential candidate. This is because according to the Hatch Act, US government resources and personnel cannot be used in support of political purposes. As the principal on the trip, McCain would have to adhere to these rules, and save the conversation about his campaign for his own plane, at his own events, and not those done on the taxpayer dime. However, in his remarks while in Canada, McCain repeatedly referred to his presidential campaign including in the trip’s headline speech.

McCain says "We will stop multimillion-dollar payouts to CEOs who have broken the public trust."

Under Hewlett-Packard's severance agreement, Carly Fiorina, now one of McCains top economic advisors, received $21 million in cash, which was 2.5 times her base annual salary. On March 8, 2006, two large institutional investors filed suit against Hewlett-Packard for violating its own severance cap when it doled out a multimillion-dollar payment to Fiorina as part of her termination agreement

Sounds like John McCain will stop multimillion dollar payouts to CEO's by having them help him run the Country.

This whole McCain campaign would be quite funny if it wasn't so very real.

Let's look at Palin's take on the economy.
Speaking of company directors, "They put their own interest at risk above those of their employees and the shareholders who own those companies."

I think she means "interest[s] above
those of their employees" trips over the phrase "at risk". But the rest is no better. She seems to not realize that directors are "shareholders who own those companies".

This quote and the vague talk about reform that accompanied it, show no grasp of the economy and the interdependence of its financial mechanisms.

One of the root causes of the financial collapse we are seeing on Wall Street is the extended national debt. Another is what is referred to as the housing crisis. Many of the loans that are now coming up bad are speculations on much bigger properties than Old Mother Hubbard's shoe next door. They include building projects for shopping malls, hotels with marinas, gated communities.

The knock-on effect of bad debt is weakening the whole house of cards that exists from re-selling that debt several times and taking a commission on those sales.

To correct the economic imbalance will take more than simply barking in the dark like McCain and Palin. It will take a redirection of the economy towards investment in infrastructure and development of new technologies.

It's no use just hoping that Wall Street will "correct" itself. That's up to the American voter to see through the sham of the last eight years.

I seriously doubt that Obama or McCain can be held responsible for the big step at the end of the real estate bubble.

The key is Congress. And this sort of problem is what the Democrats historically have handled.

Sure, they talk too much. Sure, they have a tendency to pass overcomplicated pieces of legislation. Sure, they struggle with special interests, like the Republicans.

But hands down, they are better prepared to deal with this sort of problem.

That's because they're not handcuffed by neoconservative ideals. You're not going to hear them prattle on about the 'invisible hand' or the 'self-regulating' market. They just don't have the GOP's undying faith in the healing power of unrestrained personal greed.

When times are good (and they've been good for a long, long time) then maybe we can afford to elect Republicans because we like their tough talk on national security, or their values platform, or some such.

But when times are bad, as they were in the Thirties, and the Sixties, and as they are now -- let the Democrats have a chance.

No matter how you may feel personally about Hillary or Barack or Durbin or Pelosi or Barney Frank, they're better at this sort of thing.

Let the GOP step aside for a few years. They can use the free time to do what their good at -- planning some future war.

Do we really want 4 more years of Republicans at the wheel? Look where they have taken the middle and lower class! Do you want or can you trust a man who can't even remember how many homes he owns to watch out for us? No, I am sorry, it would be financial suicide if I let republicans non-tax us to death with their bailout of republican run financial institutions.

For ten years the Democratic Party has prevented American from drilling off-shore and in Alaska.

Obama and the Democratic Party are OPPOSED to drilling off-shore and in Alaska.

McCain and Palin and the Republican Party are FOR drilling off-shore and in Alaska.

How much does it cos you to fill up your gas tank lately?

Posted by: BruceMcDougall | September 15, 2008 4:51 PM
-----------------------
And what does this have to do with the this mess the republicans created with the economy these last 8 years. Don't bother feeding me the congress line of sh*t either. GOPS always blame others and it is weak! Gas is high because we are in the middle east blowing people apart or creating an environment to blow em apart. Everyone knows that. If you really followed the logic and facts behind offshore drilling it would barely drop prices. If we did we would be paying maybe 40cents less now and that is a generous figure. The only reason the Dems are semi-supporting it now is because lame asses like yourslef are falling for the GOP bs and it is a political move. Which, I think is lame on the Dem's part. Stay with the issues that count. Not BS that states or proves nothing. This current fiasco is mortgage based. Which started in 2002 and peaked in 2007.

As a Republican of many years, I am disgusted with the entire Party. To now see the grey haired balding guys come to the aid of Sarah (Hail Mary) Palin is as big a lie as hell. I know they choked on their morning cofee when they read the newspaper. He Did What??? That Jackass!! I know that the local party here in the NATI, and the National Party for that matter, always thought that John McCain was a NUT!!! Do anyone remember the Bush ads from Year 2000!

Every 4 years the Republicans run out the same can of FEAR wrapped in the American Flag and the Majority of America swallow it without chewing. For the McCain camp to include the 9/11 replay in the party convention says what? If you don't vote for us this could happen again? Was it not the Republican's policy of a smaller government responsible for it happening in the 1st place.

While we were distracted by the IRAQ war they sold this Country right out from under us.

What happens when China and Saudi calls our mark?

Bottom line when Bill Clinton (Even though I did not vote for him) was in Office my 401K made me rich. After 8 years of Jr. I will be working until I am 80. Not only is my 401K worthless; but the SOB's who took my money got booted out with $125 Million each.

I'm glad all you "con"-servatives up there own 7+ houses and cheated on your first wife to marry into a fortune. Because down here in the real world, we don't think that John McCain understands the middle class. I'm sure he's not debating filling up at the gas station or paying a bill this week. I love how the brainwashed argue that McCain "understands me better". He was thinking of you and your family when he and Cindy put gold gilding on the fountain in the backyard of their 4th home. They were just talking about you all day at the BBQ with Abramoff and ExxonMobil. They want you to know that they believe in God's plan for you.

Watch out for the glittering lights, moths, they are going to swat you as soon as you're in a trance.

A comment said, "Which candidate, given his experience and judgement, would be better suited to go
"eyeball to eyeball" with the aggressive Putin or the lunatic in Iran?".
I guess that would have to be the candidate who didn't put neophyte Palin on their ticket for political reasons.

McCain said today "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" and then went on to say "Wall Street needs more transparancy and oversight."

Well, perhaps. The problem is, where's the "transparancy" when it comes to the BI-PARTISAN investigation into Palin's firing of the Public Safety Commissioner who failed to fire her ex-brother-in-law? Although Palin swore at the outset that she would "cooperate" with the investigation, NOW the McCain camp is crying "politics" and is making overt efforts to thwart the progress of the investigation.

My point is, that McCain's word about "transparancy" is no good.

We also know that he takes his economic advice from Mr. Deregulate Wall Street himself, Phil Gramm, who also accused Americans of being a "nation of whiners" and that the current crises are just psychological.

The current collapse is due almost entirely to deregulation and lack of oversight. That's been McCain's policy since day one. Now he wants us to think he's suddenly changed.

Obama has ALWAYS been for more oversight and regulation to our financial institutions.

Who do you want to trust with OUR economy? McBush, or Obama?

Besides running a sleazy campaign, and lying through his teeth not only about Palin, himself, but lies constantly about Obama.

To you right wing sleezeball jerks who support McBush, the ONLY pleasure I'd get if McCain got elected is you'd get dragged down with the ship too.

"Remember it’s Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work with what’s handed to him."
Posted by: MA | September 15, 2008 4:21 PM
___________________________
THIS IDIOT WAS NOT TOILET TRAINED!!!

This is one of the funniest post I've seen...It's great having humor with some occaisional historically Accurate facts:)!

Do we need a man with cool resolve or do we need a man who needs on-the-job-training?

McCain will not blink.

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 4:38 PM
----------------------------------
"A man with cool resolve" = John McSame, are you kidding. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom McSame will have us at war with 3 major countries within 3 months of taking office. He's a hot head who act first and thinks after he's been put in a corner--if he thinks at all. We need a President with Presidential temperment, one who is able to make decisions under pressure with sound judgment and even temperment. That's not McSame, that Obama.

Honesty is the best policy.... for anyone! Anyone out there who insists that the Republican party is the only party in the U.S. that has its corrupt members is completely mistaken. Get real people! Most politicians are in one way or another crooked people. Top leaders of the Democratic party have been caught red handed and covered in corruption. That is the honest truth! No questions about it.

McShady is at it again with his lying. Loose lips must down airplanes too. lol Where's Carribou Barbie to save the day? lol
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again." -- The President of the United States of America - George Bush...

Reality has come crashing into John McCain's campaign like a grenade through the front door. Palin's celebrity introduction is toast. She will be quickly forgotten, and Obama will take control of the campaign from here on in. People are not going to stand for this Republican nonsense campaign of distraction any longer

Change from McCain and Palin, or Biden for that matter is like expecting the Gotti's to police the Mafia for the good of the General Public. New York's former governor to his credit took on Countrywide. Where has the SEC been? It is their job to police the markets. After yet another bailout the American tax payers are entitled to see the ones responsible for this mess on their way to prison. May be Big Bertha can give them a few tips on honesty. The five C's of credit where ignored and the SEC looked the other way. Do you think the dollar is going to rebound and money made available to business and consumers when the US Gov't has sucked up as much of the money available to be borrowed. The US and the Bush administration are flirting with disaster, just like Katrina, the Iraq War, and now the economy. Remember the internet buble during Clinton. No bailouts for them. Let the markets work, let the vultures come, and may be new firms with more responsible and consumer responsive will flourish. Greed turned the opportunity Bush gave these firms into sour grapes. They abused their power over the little guy to the point the little guy just couldn't hack it anymore. Fees,fees,fees, service charges, collection charges, insurance who refuses to pay your claim. No bankruptcy, to rejuvenate those who experienced a financial setback. Instead, you're stuck. Now it is trickling to the top. Humm... The market needs to police itself. The laws are there. Does the SEC has the funding and the personnel to prevent this kind of situation? Why didn't they do their job? If the SEC were the SEC we wouldn't be in this mess, and Bush once again wouldn't be getting the blame for it. Laisez faire is not a free for all. Competition and the risk of failure is part of business. Customers pay for services. If you're not providing a service then you owe your clients.

Anyone who studies their history knows that we didn't have boon and bust cycles until the federal reserve was created. Those greedy folks at the top arent going to suffer from this financial disaster, in fact they engineered it to take more from the American public. When everything is done mass amounts of real wealth will transfer from regular working folks to the Rothschild's and Morgan's of the world. The federal reserve is our enemy not Putin or Iran - funny how the republiacns on this blog are still trying to make this about personality. I dont care who blinks first - I care about keeping my house, job and family together.

So we've given the Republicans eight years to govern, and this is the best they could do. Now, we're asked to give them another four years. But we're told it's not really the same Republicans. It's somebody entirely different who wants to reform all those bad people in Washington. I'm confused. Aren't all those bad people Republicans. So these new Republicans are going to reform the old Republicans and everything is going to be better. Huh? Obama asked if they thought we were stupid. Given the polls, it appears to me that the Republicans know we are stupid.

Bush with his tax cuts gave too much money to the investors, Wall Street, and too little tax cuts to consumers, mortgage recipients. Bush gave Wall Street the money and Wall Street went out and lent it. If you do not want Wall Street to do that don't provide them the money. Too much money chasing too few financially suitable persons to barrow. Bush cheered this as the ownership society.

This economy is not fundamentally sound because there are too few people with ample resources to do be the consumers and not be debt ridden. What this economy needs is more good paying jobs that won't be shipped overseas. That is what Obama wants to do. McCain wants to continue more of the same tax cuts that are indiscriminate to the investors. This crisis shows that that strategy did not work. Bush did not produce the jobs. McCain will not either.

What is the endpoint for McCain's policy? No taxes on the rich? McCain is reading from a script that is old, worn out and tatered. We need vitality and that is Obama.

Republicans have us at war in two countries as a result of Republican lies and deceptions, and we might be in two more wars--Iran and Pakistan--by November. We have alienated the entire Muslim world and most of the rest.

The dollar has lost 60% of its value against the euro, and the once mighty dollar is losing its reserve currency role.

The Republicans' policies have driven up the price of both oil and gold by 400%.

Inflation is in double digits. Employment is falling.

The Republican economy in the 21st century has been unable to create net new jobs for Americans except for low wage domestic services such as waitresses, bartenders, retail clerks and hospital orderlies.

Republican deregulation brought about fraud in mortgage lending and dangerous financial instruments which have collapsed the housing market, leaving a million or more homeowners facing foreclosure. The financial system is in disarray and might collapse from insolvency.

The trade and budget deficits have exploded. The US trade deficit is larger than the combined trade deficits of every deficit country in the world.

The US can no longer finance its wars or its own government and relies on foreign loans to function day to day. To pay for its consumption, the US sells its existing assets--companies, real estate, toll roads, whatever it can offer--to foreigners.

Republicans have run roughshod over the US Constitution, Congress, the courts and civil liberties. Republicans have made it perfectly clear that they believe that our civil liberties make us unsafe--precisely the opposite view of our Founding Fathers. Yet, Republicans regard themselves as the Patriotic Party.

The Republicans have violated the Nuremberg prohibitions against war crimes, and they have violated the Geneva Conventions against torture and abuse of prisoners. Republican disregard for human rights ranks with that of history's great tyrants.

The Republicans have put in place the foundation for a police state, which they have no problem using against fellow citizens!

We must get the Republicans totally out of power, or we will have no country left for any of us!

I know it is pointless to remind you, but I've never said are governed by the Bible, nor do I believe we should be -- I'm not knocking toritto's beliefs -- BTW: aolitionists were against slavery without having to resort to the Bible either.

Between the issues of the economy and the evirnoment, the environment is more pressing by far. WHEN will the environment become the spotlight issue? Neither candidate is concerned - they are BOTH failing us.

"Fundamentals of our economy are sound" - a statement that disqualifies because of who says it.

The same set of politicians kept insisting "we are winning", "9/11 linked with Iraq", "economy is good", "no recession", and other lies. Their own record yields the probability that their assessment on economy can not be believed. Yes, the war based machine allows them to keep minting money, and add to that the wealth from oil related trades and secretive operations. They may be getting stronger economically, and have kept using blatant lies on airwaves and staged events to mislead the American people. McCain, Bush, paulson and many others are expressly disqualified to claim the status of economy. The new Administration, once in office, the Obama-Biden led teams should investigate and lay it all in open for Americans to see the true status of not only the economy but overall State of the Union, and propose new steps forward to counter the problems.

Various journalists and pundits keep insisting "we have not heard specific actions/proposals" from Obama, but they fail to understand that the true assessment and inter-related aspects of all problems have to be clearly identified in an objective way as an initial stage.

Reality has come crashing into John McCain's campaign like a grenade through the front door. Palin's celebrity introduction is toast. She will be quickly forgotten, and Obama will take control of the campaign from here on in. People are not going to stand for this Republican nonsense campaign of distraction any longer

I'm not impressed with either canidate. One is a liberal who has no care for small town Americans, and the other is an all around jerk. One stands for everything that I belive to be immoral, and the other is old and wants to go to war with the world tomorrow. I am not saying we shouldn't finish what 'we' started, but we can't take on the entire middle east alone. I know that there are some real loopy people in here who would disagree with that, but it is true. We need a third canidate who isn't for abortion, gay marrige, gun control, attacking the entire world, close to death, or inexperiecned. We are all screwed this election, in one way or another. Obama isn't the answer... yet neither is McCain.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis when the United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war over Russian missiles in Cuba, Governor Connolly of Texas said:

"We were eyeball to eyeball and they blinked first."

Which candidate, given his experience and judgement, would be better suited to go
"eyeball to eyeball" with the aggressive Putin or the lunatic in Iran?

Joe Biden, Obama's choice for vice president, thinks that John McCain is better suited to deal with both men.
Biden is on record as saying that Obama is "not ready to be president" and that the presidency is not a place for "on the job training".

When President Bush met Putin for the first time, he said he had "looked him in the eyes" and saw good man.

When John McCain heard this comment, he said: I looked him in the eyes and saw three letters. KGB.

Do we need a man with cool resolve or do we need a man who needs on-the-job-training?

I hope to hell this country go's down the drain real fast, "GREED, go's around, comes around". Bring back 1929 and maybe than these rich-sob's will learn to live like most of us have for the last eight years..........

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
____

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975).

OBAMA CAME TO NEGOTIATE A POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT DELAY IN THE WITHDRAWL OF OUR TROOPS- WAS HE AFRAID THE "100 YEARS WAR" CLAIM WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE JOKE IT ALWAYS WAS?

WHAT A HYPOCRITE !!!

WELL AT LEAST HE'LL HAVE ONE MORE THING IN COMMON WITH MCGOVERN AFTER NOVEMBER!

McCain in Congress since 1982 only recently
found out that there is an economy. He never had to worry about it
Obama learned first hand, growing up that there is an economy.
Who cares more about it? Should not be to difficult to answer. At least for most of you.

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
____

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975).

OBAMA CAME TO NEGOTIATE A POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT DELAY IN THE WITHDRAWL OF OUR TROOPS- WAS HE AFRAID THE "100 YEARS WAR" CLAIM WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE JOKE IT ALWAYS WAS?

WHAT A HYPOCRITE !!!

WELL AT LEAST HE'LL HAVE ONE MORE THING IN COMMON WITH MCGAOVERN AFTER NOVEMBER!

How is Obama going to fix the fiancial crisis, by creating more entitlements with his Health Care initiative.

This disaster was created by Greenspan who worked for both Democratic and Republican Administrations. The Democrats have had power in Congress for a couple of years now. What have they done. Name one substantial law that has been passed.

I would rather take a chance with Obama Administration since the 8 years of republican Administration and the bulk of 2 decades of control over Congress and Senate was with them. They should be content with all those opportunities they had to do something good for America. Evidence does not support the notion of "Nation or the country First". Thinking of the current crisis in the financial world (with all excesses they enjoyed), the "corporate welfare" has skrood (an alternate word, sounds like) the nation beyond belief.

Erik - it's not about economy, i think there are people that would rather go back to the middleages and go to a classist system then vote in a colored person in office, so they will try pinning other issues to the candidate to justify their reasons why they won't choose the better, because they are too afraid to look deep down and find out they don't want a colored man in power. Sad.

There is no way the American voter is going to vote for four more years of this come November. Palin's honeymoon is over, as is McCain's slight edge in the polls. Though the media has done it's best to keep this election season about trivialities, reality has come crashing in. Just you watch as Obama regains his lead in the polls. By week's end, Obama will be the frontrunner once again, as we just cannot afford more of the same.

"Remember it’s Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work with what’s handed to him."
Posted by: MA | September 15, 2008 4:21 PM
___________________________
THIS IDIOT WAS NOT TOILET TRAINED!!!

Why is McCain lying about his arms being broken while a POW in Vietnam?

The record says his arms were broken while being ejected from his damaged plane after making a bombing run over a North Vietnam village.

He came down in a river or small lake near that village where he was captured by angry villagers. His life was being threatened by them when the North Vietnamese army interceeded and rescued him.

In reality he was rescued twice. Once by the villagers who pulled him out of the water where he likely would have drowned with both his arms being broken, and then by the NVA by preventing the villagers from getting revenge.

After he ejected, his plane crashed into the village causing more death and damage which added to the villagers anger.

During a trip there after the war, describing the plane crash and the damage it did, McCain called it "collateral damage."

The truth may not always present good sound bites for a politician, but it is the truth.

How can people believe that McCain-Palin will save this crisis? Never mind who the people on the Dem. side are or who's on the GOP side. It is about who will fix the economy of the country and the Democrates should have a much higher ranking here, it's been eight years with the GOP:s in the White house. Christ! Are people totally ignorant of facts and how the economy works.

Republicans have us at war in two countries as a result of Republican lies and deceptions, and we might be in two more wars--Iran and Pakistan--by November. We have alienated the entire Muslim world and most of the rest.

The dollar has lost 60% of its value against the euro, and the once mighty dollar is losing its reserve currency role.

The Republicans' policies have driven up the price of both oil and gold by 400%.

Inflation is in double digits. Employment is falling.

The Republican economy in the 21st century has been unable to create net new jobs for Americans except for low wage domestic services such as waitresses, bartenders, retail clerks and hospital orderlies.

Republican deregulation brought about fraud in mortgage lending and dangerous financial instruments which have collapsed the housing market, leaving a million or more homeowners facing foreclosure. The financial system is in disarray and might collapse from insolvency.

The trade and budget deficits have exploded. The US trade deficit is larger than the combined trade deficits of every deficit country in the world.

The US can no longer finance its wars or its own government and relies on foreign loans to function day to day. To pay for its consumption, the US sells its existing assets--companies, real estate, toll roads, whatever it can offer--to foreigners.

Republicans have run roughshod over the US Constitution, Congress, the courts and civil liberties. Republicans have made it perfectly clear that they believe that our civil liberties make us unsafe--precisely the opposite view of our Founding Fathers. Yet, Republicans regard themselves as the Patriotic Party.

The Republicans have violated the Nuremberg prohibitions against war crimes, and they have violated the Geneva Conventions against torture and abuse of prisoners. Republican disregard for human rights ranks with that of history's great tyrants.

The Republicans have put in place the foundation for a police state, which they have no problem using against fellow citizens!

We must get the Republicans totally out of power, or we will have no country left for any of us!

Let the markets work. we had good times and now its times for bad. people and companies need to prepare themselves for these cyclical downturns. the growth in the real estate market was unprecedented so the downfall will be as well. sry, the free market system is like giving birth -- there is struggle, a lot of pain (sometimes) and if you see it, it can be down right ugly BUT the result, if allowed to proceed relatively unhindered, is amazing.

Civility is a principled behavior that should always be strived for; however, the people that would elect McCain after seeing the damage that Bush and the Republicans have done to this nation; the people who refuse to educate themselves on McCain's career of talking honorably while acting dishonorably time and time again; the people who would vote for an ignorant, arrogant person like Palin, after seeing what disasters have been inflicted by the ignorant, arrogant Bush--these are people that inspire righteous anger rather than a benign, tolerant forbearance and yet more futile attempts to make them see the light.

Those who can overlook the hellishness that these "Bushie" (now McCain) supporters have enabled over the last 8 years, and who can keep attempting to continue to have civil discourse with the close-minded are to be commended. As for me, I cannot.

Socialism does not automatically mean lack of freedom and capitalism does not guaranty freedom and democracy. You only have to look at most European countries for an illustration of the former and at China and Vietnam for the latter.

Socialism, in essence, is the idea of mutual responsibility in a greater society. Jesus was a socialist, as were American Indians. There's nothing wrong with the term or the idea itself other than some jerks had perverted it for their own sinister purposes in the 20th century (see Stalin, Hitler, et al).

But current American capitalism is an absolute perversion of what real capitalism should be - a useful tool, open to all, and kept on a short leash.
(that's why socialism was invented in the first place - to correct and guard against capitalism's tendencies for socio-economic perversion)

For example, I wouldn't let a capitalist enterprise grow beyond providing prosperous existence for its owners and workers.

The gospel of growth, as practiced by GOP, is a gospel of cancer. When a business becomes big enough to buy a mayor and city council, it's no longer capitalism but socio-economic cancer.
From that point of view, the US is in a state of metastasis

I actually feel sorry for America. So many of you are pro-McCain...though I'm positive more than a few of you are paid RNC posters.

The country is crumbling around people's ears, gas is $4 a gallons, the value if the dollar is crap, there are job losses after job losses. But the idiot faithful go one marching to the same drum. Major banks are falling Lehman's has been around for almost 200 years, Merrill Lynch for almost 100. Yet Palin can see Russia from a small island in the Aleutians. And, Hey, she's against abortions.

I can't wait for the Great 21st Century Depression to hit and watch you retards starve on your ignorance. People just like you voted in Calvin Coolidge and Hebert Hoover. It took a Democrat to extricate us from that mess...It'll take another one this time too. Maybe not this election...but in the end you wait and see. So go ahead and vote for McCain and Palin...you'll be voting for a Democrat before you know it.

this drop in the market points to an excellent time to invest and is a great opportunity to contribute to one's retirement accounts... it's interesting that according to most statistics, more than one-quarter of the 45+ year-old morons posting here have less than $25,000 invested for retirement - can you spell l-o-s-e-r? i don't know about you, but i don't look to the President or Congress to solve my problems - i take responsibility for my own action (or inaction)... i didn't cash out my home equity and then blow it on fancy cars and credit card debt... grow up, people!

Civility is a principled behavior that should always be strived for; however, the people that would elect McCain after seeing the damage that Bush and the Republicans have done to this nation; the people who refuse to educate themselves on McCain's career of talking honorably while acting dishonorably time and time again; the people who would vote for an ignorant, arrogant person like Palin, after seeing what disasters have been inflicted by the ignorant, arrogant Bush--these are people that inspire righteous anger rather than a benign, tolerant forbearance and yet more futile attempts to make them see the light.

Those who can overlook the hellishness that these "Bushie" (now McCain) supporters have enabled over the last 8 years, and who can keep attempting to continue to have civil discourse with the close-minded are to be commended. As for me, I cannot.

Barney Frank (Mass) congressman has kept any investigation or reform of Freddie Mae/Mac from happening for years and look what it got us. They are also two of the largest lobbyists to Democrats on Federal level. Why did Freddie Mae/Mac need lobbyists ?

"This wasn't caused by Republicans or Democrats, it was caused by all of you who try to buy more than you can afford. That is all there is to it."
posted by Michael
-----
So Michael, what about all the people who could afford the things they had, but lost their jobs? What about all the jobs moving overseas? What about all the people taking paycuts, being sent home early on a daily basis or being told to not come in at all that day?
Where I work people are lucky to get 3 days of work a week right now. I've talked to folks from other companies and the same type of thing is goin on in those businesses. People are being laid off in record numbers. Most of what is available out there are temp jobs and low pay garbage. Wake up!

Exactly why should we trust Republicans with the economy? They are the ones who got us into this mess with their borrow & spend mentality. Taxes may be bad, but debt is far worse.

McCain admits to knowing precious little about economics, so electing him would be like prescribing leeches for his skin cancer. Meanwhile, Obama has been endorsed by nearly every SEC Chair of the past 30 decades, both Republican and Democrat.

"Oh yeah, I want Barack Obama to tell me about the economy. This same Obama bought a house from a crooked slum-lord named Tony Rezko with a sweet-heart deal. Oh, yeah, I want Obama leading our nation because he is honest and can handle the economy, NOT."

Lets see, GW Bush only owned 1% of the shares of the Texas Rangers, when he "arranged" the deal that brought the investors together to buy that team. When the team was sold however, the same onwers group ceded GW an additional 10% of the shares of their stock as a reward for having brokered the deal(you can check the archives of Money magazine to verify this).

It meant that Bush pocketed about 12 million bucks after taxes.

McCain married a multimillionaire who just happened to inherit her money from her father. They own somewhere between 7-9 homes, depending on how you count (don't ask McCain, he doesn't know).

So I don't think "sweetheart" deals, as you describe them, have any bearing on economic knowledge or ability to manage.

And when McCain told us he didn't really know that much about economics, but that he had Greenspan's book (you remember Greenspan, the guy who said recently McCain shouldn't borrow more money, for more tax cuts) did that make you feel confident about McCain's economic prowess ?

FilmMD--I agree with you. John McCain gambled on a cheap sugar rush and a political trophy wife. He got a nice rush all right, but I doubt it will last. He should have played it safe and responsible by picking someone more expert.

This wasn't caused by Republicans or Democrats, it was caused by all of you who try to buy more than you can afford. That is all there is to it.

Presidents and the fed attempt to control the economy through monetary and fiscal policy but it is ultimately the people who buy that determine the outcome. Go take a look in the mirror, then move on to a real topic you can blame on goverment.

John McCain is starting to look like a fool by not picking Mitt Romney as VP. Romney is a robot in a suit, but at least he has financial knowledge and know how. Sarah Palin knows how to hoard government earmarks, but that's it.

Another "the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression" comment meant to impress fear monger doom. The democrats raise this flag every year. NoBama needs to study economic history in addition to foreign policy.

The problem is , the NeoCons are just so entrenched in the commodity spectacle and the secret government infrastructure. Youve got the George Bush Center (the CIA’Ss main HQ in Langley), the USS George Bush (the new megacarrier), George Bush International Airport in Houston, The mafias and spooks that got Bush jr. his stolen elections will always be there. As soon as Bush came into power, he immediately started trashing the economy , just so his family and their kind could buy everything up at junk prices, like JP Morgan did in ‘29. They are determined to start a world war to bail the economy once they take it over…I think they are still fighting the Russians in WW2-the SS just jumped dog in ‘45 and hijacked the understructure of the US government, thanks to Prescott and Co. The US is not a democracy, its a fascist puppet state of the CIA/SS/Mafia Warmachine..The NeoCon dinosaurs won’t be stopped until their eggs are eaten by the mammalian rats, or a catastrophic event occurs which will blot out the sun (WW3, the most likely scenario).

John McCain is toast. Events will overtake him, and Sarah Palin will be a negligible quantity or a drag on his ticket. He and George W. Bush need to be kicked out of Washington before they do even greater harm.

Ken--we had an economy that was the envy of the world with the last Democratic President. Fair or not, people associate economies with presidents, not congresses.

while you present a nice argument, the problem is this. The American psyche. The repubs bail us out and then the weak and incompetant (liberals) start crying we are selfish. so we set up social program, then the entitlements kick in.

Well, let's see what other lies and deception, McCain/Palin and hosts can dredge up to deceive the American people on the state of the economy. We know from an earlier statement McCain made today, despite the terrible news on Wall Street and the markets responding in a tailspin that the economy still in good shape.

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.95 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 6.1%
4) American households have seen $2.7 trillion in equity value evaporate
(stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.5 trillion dollars;
6) Over 3% of American homes are in foreclosure.

Remember it’s Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work with what’s handed to him.

Sen. John McCain has proved himself to be unqualified and incapable of effectively leading the United States of America into the future by, among other things, his reckless, irresponsible, impulsive, and dangerous judgment in picking Sarah Palin as his running mate. Sarah Palin is a minor distraction not even worthy of discussion. However, Sen. John McCain has shown his contempt for the intelligence of the American people by making this unequivocally cynical decision to use an unknown, untested, and corrupt, serial liar like Sarah Palin to deceive voters into believing he stands for change. Sen. John McCain also disgraced himself by demonstrating a lack of courage in his choice of Sarah Palin at the last moment over much more qualified Republican men and women simply because she appeals to the base of the Republican Party, a group of voters he was going to lose. What Sen. John McCain doesn't understand is that by appeasing the extreme right wing of the Republican Party, he is going to lose the voters that really count, i.e., moderate and independent voters, and, in doing so, certainly lose the election. Obama/Biden 2008!!!

The chickens have come home to roost, but everyone is under the roost, not just the culprits. Quick easy money on the part of lenders, and 'grab what I can- pay later' on the part of too many home buyers. Actually however I believe the root of the problem was the Government's deregulation of the banks. Not sure, but I believe this happened under Reagan's watch. Then as Greenspan said, he was under political pressure (Bush?) to lower interest to practically nothing after 9/11. Maybe the bank of China can straighten it out...

Rasmussen also has a poll on who the public believes is ready to be president.

63% of Americans believe that McCain is ready to be president.
44% of Americans believe Obama is ready to be president.

Those polled believe that Biden is more ready to be president than Obama-something that Biden agrees with since in the debates he said that Obama was "not ready to be president".
Obama's experience consists of 100 days in the Senate where he spent his time writing two memoirs and had virtually no accomplishments.
There is no substitute for experience and with experience comes judgement.

PALIN RETURNED HOME TO 2,000 ALASKAN PROTESTERS WHO CHEERFULLY CHANTED "O-BAM-AH.

Gov. Sarah Palin returned home to 2,000 protesters outside the Anchorage library who wanted to correct the widespread impression that the Last Frontier endorses her candidacy.

"Last week this was just ten women sitting around talking about this perception that all of Alaska supports Sarah Palin. We apparently hit a nerve and started a movement,"

A sense of festival obtained. There was a woman in a polar bear suit representing "Polar Bear Moms Say: No Palin." Drivers on 36th Avenue saw a little girl waving a sign "Don't Ban My Books."

"My mom is from Alaska. She's a working mother. She's good looking," said Nolan. "So she seems to be qualified to be vice president."

Sarah Palin Protesters Held Signs Reading:

Bush In A Skirt
Palin: She Be Failin'
Jesus Was a Community Organizer
Palin: Thanks But No Thanks
Smearing Alaska's Good Name One Scandal @ a Time
Candidate To Nowhere
Rape Kits Should Be Free
Voted For Her Once: Never Again!
Community Organizers are the Real Patriots
Barbies for War
I Shall Not Be Pandered To
Give Palin Your Vote AND Your Draft Age Child
Sarah Palin: So Far Right She's Wrong
Alaska Is Not Frisco
Coat Hangers for McCain
Sarah Palin, Undoing 150 Years of American Feminism
Hockey Mama for Obama (on a hockey stick)

How can McCain help get our country out of this economy mess when the Republicans created this problem. Any one who believes middle class income is under five million dollars a year is already out of touch with reality.

The economy ALWAYS does better under Democrats than Republicans. Don't believe me? Google it... just avoid FOX News... and it'll take you all of 30 seconds to realize there's an incredibly strong correlation between Democratic administrations and economic growth. Similarly, there's a strong correlation between Republican administrations and recessions.

So, given the dire straits we're in today, which party would you choose? The one with the proven track record of leading the country into economic plenty? Or the one that's given us more recessions?

Think carefully before making any gut decisions based on faux "hockey moms." Ms. Palin's mom-ness or McCain's "I was a POW!" mantra won't help you when you're unemployed and homeless in 2009.

Oh yeah, I want Barack Obama to tell me about the economy. This same Obama bought a house from a crooked slum-lord named Tony Rezko with a sweet-heart deal. Oh, yeah, I want Obama leading our nation because he is honest and can handle the economy, NOT.

I think it is quite important at this juncture to note that Senator McCain's chief economic advisor is former Sen Phil Gramm, the principal force behind deregulating the banking industry, and removing important safeguards put in place after the original Depression.

If you would like the economic disaster to continue unabated, it's McCain/Palin all the way!

Hold the phone here. Having lived through October, 1987 with a 500 point drop when the Dow was nowhere near what it is today, I do have to state that millions of us are very worried.

For starters, we have rising unemployment and "underemployment", fuel prices that could be "life threatening" in cold parts of the country, 401k, IRA and other retirement plans that have taken a hit plus a psychology that makes it even worse.

I agree with those who say there is nothing wrong with the American worker. I do though have nothing but scorn for the those who claim to be "experts" and offer advice like Carly Fiorena who was "fired" by Hewlett-Packard after job losses in the thousands and half the stock value was gone as well.

We need more regulation and an experienced economic team. Look no further than Robert Rubin and a lot of Bill Clinton's advisors from the 90's. I didn't vote for Bill and nor did I approve of his personal life, but note the following.

In October, 2000. The value of the Euro was roughly 84 cents U.S. It has been as high as $159 in July, 2008. We have uemployment in excess of 6%, inflation is rearing its ugly head and home foreclousures are off the chart.

Anybody who thinks the same economic team ought to remain in place for another four years is either "on" something or should be. I consider myself an "old school" Republican where fiscal restraint and personal liberties are paramount. That's gone, however.

If you want more of the same vote for McCain who admits he has no economic knowledge. I won't even go into Palin. Remember fairly modern history. Here's a list of recessions/depressions and the Presidents.

Wonder if it is true that the actual candidate that bumps off mutual opponent, he wins in November regardless of issues and poll numbers?

Apparently this mutual opponent is wealthy, exposed corruption within both parties and is presently targeted.

The question is how?

Will GOP use Guiliani-like mob ties like the way his protege ex-NYPD commissioner did and may be jailed up to 140 years? Or solicit Gotti, Jr. whose conspiracy and murder trial starts tomorrow? Is infamous VP Cheney behind the orchestration of this?

Will Dems use an OJ Simpson-like, black convict with jail time? Coincidentally his kidnap and robbery charge trial starts the same time too.

Will the parties employ the popular law enforcement practice of 'sweetheart exchange deals' where convict commit crime/murder in exchange for less jail time, conveniently covered up and real culprits not publicly suspected?

Should we worry about our personal safety too as we share this information? For example, should my husband worry about physical safety during his routine of jogging after work in the Hackensack/Bogota, NJ areas at 4pm today as our habits and plans are known in advanced via bugging device devices in both private and public places?

Boy is this "liberals in control for the last 3 years" pitch a wonderful line. Every time Congress attempted to do anything material, what happened? The Republicans filibustered.

And any time they didn't filibuster? Either it was a lousy piece of legislation the "liberal" Congress passed to give more away to corporations, or it was a further erosion of our constitutional rights.

And upon those fleeting rare occasions where some decent piece of legislation happened to sneak by? Count on good ol' W to veto it.

But hey... stick to your myth. Liberals are the reason this country is in the tank. And I have a bridge to nowhere to sell you in Alaska.

what lifted Obama from obscurity to national prominence in such a short time you may wonder ?

why not ask Percy Sutton, the most powerful civil right activist in New York

We know enough about Obama’s Columbia grades to know how far they fall below the Harvard norm, likely even below the affirmative action-adjusted black norm at Harvard.

As far back as 1988, however, Obama had serious pull. He would need it. As previously reported, Khalid al-Mansour, principal adviser to Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, lobbied friends like Manhattan Borough president Percy Sutton to intervene at Harvard on Obama’s behalf.

An orthodox Muslim, al-Mansour has not met the crackpot anti-Semitic theory he could not embrace. As for bin Talal, in October 2001, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sent his $10 million relief check back un-cashed after the Saudi billionaire blamed 9/11 on America.

Posted by: laughing at the dems | September 15, 2008 3:55 PM

.......................................

Remember that most important of Republican ethos: If at first you don't succeed, LIE, LIE AGAIN!

After all the political chatter led by cynical reporters like Dan Balz and others at the Washington Post, the conversation has "shifted back" to the economy, which Barack Obama has never stopped talking about.

That just figures the 3am phone call rings and noone is there to answer it.Hellooo America just keep in mind mcworse is in lockstep with dum dum and this failed economy do you want 4/8 more yrs of this?I know i dont i cant aford it.

what lifted Obama from obscurity to national prominence in such a short time you may wonder ?

why not ask Percy Sutton, the most powerful civil right activist in New York

We know enough about Obama’s Columbia grades to know how far they fall below the Harvard norm, likely even below the affirmative action-adjusted black norm at Harvard.

As far back as 1988, however, Obama had serious pull. He would need it. As previously reported, Khalid al-Mansour, principal adviser to Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, lobbied friends like Manhattan Borough president Percy Sutton to intervene at Harvard on Obama’s behalf.

An orthodox Muslim, al-Mansour has not met the crackpot anti-Semitic theory he could not embrace. As for bin Talal, in October 2001, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sent his $10 million relief check back un-cashed after the Saudi billionaire blamed 9/11 on America.

"The Liberals had control of the Congress for the last 3 years and Obama was a part of that party in "control", what did he do to apply some reasonable regulation to mortgage lending to avert this crisis? (I hear crickets)."

Man, rightwingers suck at math. The last three years? Meaning they took over Congress in September 2005?

Look, we all know that Bush promised to cooperate with the Democratic Congress that took over in January 2007, but he lied and wielded the veto pen to stop any meaningful legislation, so quit with the rightwing lies and Fox News talking points.

Trying to steer the grand ship of public opinion, old captain Balz? Seems like wishful thinking to me. In truth, dummy old Dems overreached with nut job B.O., and that's a mistake that can't be undone. Nope, better hang it up...you racist, terrorist-coddling and corrupt B.O. is going down faster than Pelosi can say "Rangle is staying." Of course, not surprising that brain-dead liberals and Dems would ultimately find a way to screw this election up.

"The Liberals had control of the Congress for the last 3 years and Obama was a part of that party in "control", what did he do to apply some reasonable regulation to mortgage lending to avert this crisis? (I hear crickets)."

And what legislation could they have gotten past the WH and the Repubs in Congress without a veto-proof majority? Which party says that deregulation and letting the market decide is the way to go? (Now I hear crickets)

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:42 PM
Obama broke the law when he bought that house in Chicago together with criminal REzko.Do we need the criminal president!
----------------------------------------

Hey ditto head, we've already had one for the past 8 years! Geeze man, you just fall off the apple cart? Why on earth would you want 4 more years of the same?

The political question is how much do we want to be a socialist country. Obama's answer is he will have not problem adopting socialism, while McCain may hesitate in inserting government power into the market. Even though socialism may likely provide short term relief to the economy, it is always a tough sell in this country, where people are supposed to hold liberty higher than wealth.

Greenspan, a long-time friend of McCain and a Republican, said about the Arizona senator's plans to extend massive tax cuts imposed by President George W. Bush: "I'm not in favor of financing tax cuts with borrowed money."

"The Liberals had control of the Congress for the last 3 years and Obama was a part of that party in "control", what did he do to apply some reasonable regulation to mortgage lending to avert this crisis? (I hear crickets)."

And what legislation could they have gotten past the WH and the Repubs in Congress without a veto-proof majority? Which party says that deregulation and letting the market decide is the way to go? (Now I hear crickets)

Hey Reality...you forgot to mention the donations from Wallstreet to McCain...When will you Republican EVER LEARN HONEST IS BEST...WE ARE ALL REALLY QUITE TIRED OF YOUR DECEIPTION...When it comes to the presidential race, Lehman employees were among the top contributors to both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Lehman employees gave $370, 524 to Mr. Obama and $117,500 to Mr. McCain. While these numbers may appear small by Wall Street standards, donations to candidates are capped at $2,300 for the primary election and $2,300 for the general.

Among all big donors, Lehman was the 10th-largest donor to the Obama campaign and in 15th place for Mr. McCain. (For Mr. Obama, the top donor was Goldman at $691,930, and Merrill was the top donor for Mr. McCain at $298,413).
What a funny coincidence that so many Goldman and Lehman “employees” are so public minded that they willingly give the max $$$ to both parties.

Perhaps a clearer vision is that a Goldman VP comes into your office and says, “Give $2,300 to Obama and we’ll make it up to you in your bonus”.

Then he goes into the next office and makes the same order for McCain.

the crisis was created by the deregulation led by the Cheney/Bush group. A Democratic congress? Bush had both parts of congress on his side for well over half his terms.

They shipped all the jobs overseas, including the good ones like programming and insurance, spent $3 trillion on wars and who knows what, and let the financial groups go wild. Anyone can see the country has taken a huge nosedive under Bush...

People can slime the Democratic candidate, all they want, but when the dust settles, there are real decisions about the world the President will be making. It won't be about being POW, abortions, or who is black or who is a woman. If you want the same people who ran the Bush administration to stay in power, vote McCain.

"But continuing the same policies, under Bush and then McCain, would land us back there again -- or over the cliff."

Today McCain is quoted as saying that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, leading me to believe he is completely out of touch with ordinary Americans, or he's just trying to whistle past the graveyard.

I wish the media would push McCain to define what he means by "fundamentals" and "strong," and how exactly he'd reform Wall Street, but I fear that soon he'll release another lie in the form of a political ad, and the media will scurry off to their laptops to write about it instead of covering the issues.

This was the first time Palin had mentioned Wall Street in her stump speech. Mostly she tends to reprise large portions of her nomination speech from the convention. Palin herself may not be the most authoritative spokesperson on such issues. In the past, when she was running for Alaska governor, she freely admitted to a reporter that she got a "D" in macroeconomics in college.

This discussion is inane to say the least. Both candidates will have to do what Bill Clinton did in the first year of his Presidency and put all his ambitious new programs on hold to try to begin to balance the budget.

McCain actually has more credibility on this than Obama has. The federal government will not be able to spend its way out of this.

We are in for tough times over the next few years and we might as well face that. Both parties are to blame. The mortgage crisis is because both parties are insistant that we make more and more money available at easier rates to people who can't really afford to borrow it. The Republicans liked to make it easier for big business and the Democrats wanted to make it easier for the poor and minoritites to get mortgages they really couldn't afford. Why are we now surprised that they are the ones being forclosed on their homes.

If we get back to paygo and only spend money we have it would be the way to go to bring some sanity out of the chaos. End the war but don't rush out and spend that money but begin to balance the budget again. Everyone will suffer but it is the only way to get back to a sane economy.

You people are insane.
Liberals don't exist anymore.
It's a hoax, a distraction, its a straw man setup to make you angry and afraid.
You are more easily controlled that way.
Think you aren't being controlled?
Then why do you feel passionate about lapel pins, or lipstick on pigs, or bowling scores?

The facts are the governing model of America for the past 8 years is straight from the books of the Bush family and the neo-cons. McCain's voting record is clearly a continuation of the same corrupt misguided ideas that has nearly broken this country. And we are almost broken by the way. No matter how much McCain and Bloomberg say we are 'sound'.

Now, the question is, do you want more of the same?
I don't.
I'm willing to take a chance on Obama, rather than fearfully submit to the GOP again. The GOP apparently only cares about wars and the very rich. Everything else is an after thought it seems.

Sarah Palin: Six colleges in five years to get her BA.. Flunked one year and had to go to community college to make up the credits to get back in to a 4 year college. Her husband has NO college degree.

"Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:29 PM
There were in fact years in which simple, reasonable, but real regulation of mortgage standards would have prevented the meltdown. Congress did nothing. NOTHING during those years. Where was Obama?"
----------------------------------------

Hey republikan ditto head, it was the republikans under HalliBush, Inc. that deregulated after being bought and paid for. HalliBush, Inc. did everything they could to weaken regulatory guidelines.

Same people that want "privitize" social security! Wow, how many retirees are having to go back to work because their investments have tanked under HalliBush, Inc.? What a dumb idea. Social Security was envisioned to at least give people something when the market collapses.

Hey ditto head, go back to your ditto board
with rush slimbaug and pop some pills.

I can't wait for the millions of registered voters who only have cell phones and who aren't included in all of these polls to show up and vote. We will cause change. Anyone who thinks the new generation doesn't care or have a vested interest in who's elected just flat out isn't paying attention...

McCain himself admits his involvement in the Keating Savings and Loan Scandal was the worst thing in his entire political career. He admits to his poor judgment. We surely don't need his poor judgment calling the shots, now! His penchant for unregulated investments, outrageous profits and payoffs should certainly get voters to say, "Stay away from my money, John! We don't need your kind of money maverick non-sense!"

The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).

The U.S. Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of 747 savings and loan associations (S&Ls) in the United States. The ultimate cost of the crisis is estimated to have totaled around $160.1 billion, about $124.6 billion of which was directly paid for by the U.S. taxpayer.[1].

The concomitant slowdown in the finance industry and the real estate market may have been a contributing cause of the 1990-1991 economic recession. Between 1986 and 1991, the number of new homes constructed per year dropped from 1.8 million to 1 million, the lowest rate since World War II.[2]

The Keating Five scandal was prompted by the activities of one particular savings and loan: Lincoln Savings and Loan Association of Irvine, California. Lincoln's chairman was Charles Keating, who ultimately served five years in prison for his corrupt mismanagement of Lincoln.[3] In the four years since Keating's American Continental Corporation (ACC) had purchased Lincoln in 1984, Lincoln's assets had increased from $1.1 billion to $5.5 billion.[4] Such savings and loan associations had been deregulated in the early 1980s, allowing them to make highly risky investments with their depositors' money, a change of which Keating took advantage.[4] Lincoln's investments took the form of buying land, taking equity positions in real estate development projects, and buying high-yield junk bonds.[5]

McCain and Keating had become personal friends following their initial contacts in 1981.[8] Between 1982 and 1987, McCain had received $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates.[14] In addition, McCain's wife Cindy McCain and her father Jim Hensley had invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a year before McCain met with the regulators. McCain, his family, and their baby-sitter had made nine trips at Keating's expense, sometimes aboard Keating's jet. Three of the trips were made during vacations to Keating's opulent Bahamas retreat at Cat Cay. McCain did not pay Keating (in the amount of $13,433) for some of the trips until years after they were taken, when he learned that Keating was in trouble over Lincoln.[6][15]

The core allegation of the Keating Five affair is that Keating had made contributions of about $1.3 million to various U.S. Senators, and he called on those Senators to help him resist regulators. The regulators backed off, to later disastrous consequences.

The Liberals had control of the Congress for the last 3 years and Obama was a part of that party in "control", what did he do to apply some reasonable regulation to mortgage lending to avert this crisis? (I hear crickets).

"Neither Palin nor McCain has an advanced degree that I know of, although I haven't looked into that subject with Palin."

Palin has no advanced degree, but she is a hockey mom and a pit bull with lipstick, so she resonates with other members of the public who don't know what the Bush Doctrine is and who think that proximity to a foreign country gives them foreign policy experience.

Obama gave an excellent speech on March 27 about financial market regulation. I was impressed at the time but have not gone back to reread it to see how conditions have changed since then. His campaign should be putting up segments of that speech on his website, on YouTube, and maybe even in TV ads if there are soundbitable sections, all in addition, of course, to commenting now.

Obama is completely correct about the root causes of the situation and should say whether or not he agrees with the steps taken to address it. Perhaps he did say that as well and it just wasn't reported in this short piece.

I think it's a bit like the situation in Iraq. The administration's absence of muscular financial regulation drove the car into the ditch. Maybe we all agree now on how to get it out. But continuing the same policies, under Bush and then McCain, would land us back there again -- or over the cliff.

The Liberals had control of the Congress for the last 3 years and Obama was a part of that party in "control", what did he do to apply some reasonable regulation to mortgage lending to avert this crisis? (I hear crickets).

JakeD, I know it is pointless to remind you, but we are not governed by the Bible. That's one of the benefits to living in the United States, for all you patriotic-types. Toritto is not required to believe what you believe. Folks who want to be governed by a religious would do well in another country. Like the one we are destroying.

Toritto, thanks for sharing the most personal reason why choice matters. I have huge respect for you and your family.

It is very sad. Americans are being duped again by a liar...as they were with Bush-Cheney...who have destroyed this country. A McSame-Pit Bull administration will spell certain disaster for this nation. When Americans ignore the truth and base their voting decisions on narcissism and projection (ie..."Oh I resonate with that guy, lady), Americans are no better than the Germans when they fell for Hitler's narcissistic lies and grandiosity. This indicates a deep soul sickness in this country. It was no coincidence that 911 happened. 911 means EMERGENCY. It was as if the Universe was telling us that this country is in an EMERGENCY situation. But who listened? After a month or two of the Unity that made this country great...America went back to its old narcissistic, Soul sick ways. Now with a failed war that has cost tens of thousands of lives and a trillion dollars, a 9 Trillion national debt (yes, America is broke), a 500 Billion deficit, a deep recession, an imploding Wall St, health care crises, all our work outsourced to China for a quick Republican buck,...Americans are once again demonstrating their stupidity, narcissism, and soul sickness by falling for the lies of McCain-Palin.

Anonymous, what planet are you living on? It wasn’t the liberals who did the swiftboating. That was Karl Rove’s baby, and last time I looked, Rove is a Republican. I don’t think obfuscating means what you think it means.

Obama faces the challenge now of the simple facts of his silence over Liberal Congress endless inaction to prevent this problem. There were in fact years in which simple, reasonable, but real regulation of mortgage standards would have prevented the meltdown. Congress did nothing. NOTHING during those years. Where was Obama?

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:29 PM

_________________________________________

The GOP had control of the White House AND Congress for 6 of the last 8 years and McCain was a part of that party in "control", what did he do to apply some reasonable regulation to mortgage lending to avert this crisis? (I hear crickets).

It is breathtaking to imagine that two totally average intellects as Obama and biden have a 45% chance of fixing our financial markets.

Just breathtaking.

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:31 PM

....................................

I have to admit I'm having fun with this fool. Obama and Biden are two of the most intelligent people in the Senate. Both graduated with distinction both from fine undergraduate institutions and premier law schools.

On the other hand John McCain graduate pretty much at the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy and Palin bounced from one mediocre school to another before getting her bachelors. Neither Palin nor McCain has an advanced degree that I know of, although I haven't looked into that subject with Palin.

Obama faces the challenge now of the simple facts of his silence over Liberal Congress endless inaction to prevent this problem. There were in fact years in which simple, reasonable, but real regulation of mortgage standards would have prevented the meltdown. Congress did nothing. NOTHING during those years. Where was Obama?

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:29 PM

.......................................

That was a Republican held Congress that wanted to de-regulate everything in banking and finance. By the time the Dems took over the economy was going into full meltdown mode.

Bloomberg agrees with McCain! I'd trust Bloomberg any day over Obama on the economy.

Blomberg: "I do agree that fundamentally America has an economy that is strong," he said. "America’s great strength is its diversity, its hard work, its good financial statements, its broad capital markets,its enormous natural resources" and its work ethic, he said. "I'd rather play America's hand than any other country," he said. "Without problems? No."

Come on! How about a little integrity? What you're quoting is a tiny little blurb by Ben Smith, a Politico.com blogger, not a real report or news story. You left out the only other sentences in his post: "I just now asked the New York mayor, a former Wall Street hand who's been in the mix in the current crisis, whether he agrees with McCain that the fundamentals of the American economy are strong."

So, it was a quick question, framed in a very narrow way, with an off-the-cuff response.

Interested in Bloomberg's real opinions? Try this.

* NY Sun: "Mayor Bloomberg has canceled a trip to California amid troubles in the American financial industry. A spokesman said Mr. Bloomberg spent the weekend speaking with federal officials and heads of financial firms and felt it was best to remain in New York."

* Times Herald Record: "Governor, Mayor Bloomberg to address state over turmoil
The turmoil on Wall Street has caught the attention of the top officials of New York and New Jersey. Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have scheduled news conferences today to talk about the crisis brought on by the demise of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. In an interview on CNBC, Paterson said that Wall Street makes up one-fifth of the state’s economy, and that the investment banking problems create havoc all around the state. Paterson says that that the state treasury saw a 97 percent drop this year from the biggest banks’ corporate taxes. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine says the woes will spread into his state as well."

* Financial Post: "The Big Apple could be pushed into a deep recession as the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. lead to a likely tsunami of pink slips on Wall Street.

New York City's Independent Budget Office is scrambling to come up with new figures to estimate the impact on the city's economy as the credit crisis claims two of its biggest victims yet.

Employees at Lehman Brothers' midtown Manhattan headquarters were packing up boxes of personal belongings in anticipation of mass layoffs as the 158-year old bank heads for liquidation.

It's expected that the firm's entire 25,000 global workforce could soon be on the hunt for new jobs.

Meanwhile, a big chunk of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s 60,000 worldwide workforce also might get the axe after the storied Wall Street bank agreed to a takeover late late Sunday by Bank of America.

The dramatic cuts would mark a big blow for New York, which gets a huge portion of its tax revenue from Wall Street's high-income earners. Banks and brokerages account for nearly 35% of all salaries and wages in New York.

The loss of such big spenders also could dramatically cool New York's hot real-estate market and diminish demand in the city's restaurants and retail outlets. Wall Street layoffs tend to have a ripple effect, with each job cut there leading to three or four other jobs cut in the city.

Worried about the impact Lehman's collapse and Merrill's takeover, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg worked the phones over the weekend to get a handle on the crisis. Mr. Bloomberg, himself a former Wall Street executive, cancelled a trip to California to tackle the problems at home."

* Canada.com: McCain acknowledges culpability? ""The fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times and I promise you we will never put America in this position again," McCain, a Republican, told a rally in the electoral battleground state of Florida."

Go ahead, America: re-elect these people and they'll "nver put America in this position again." Lipstick on a pig.

Senator Biden is kissing cousins with the banking industry - what's his "take" on these developments? And how, exactly is Senator Obama going to pay for the increases in education, health care and other social services, when he is cutting the very taxes we need to pay for these services? It doesn't make sense. And if he can't run the government in a fiscally responsible manner, how can he even BEGIN to straighten out the economy? By taking over, or bailing out, MORE organizations? First banking (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae), then the Big 3 automakers. The government should NOT be in the business of bailing out businesses - our government runs a FREE MARKET - NOT a socialist society.

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:24 PM
More BS? Vote Obama!
The only thing "trickling" down to most Americans are the failures of the Liberal Congress, stock values plumeting, foreclosure notices in the mailbox and the pink slip from the boss.
Lamobama: Not even lipstick on you, arm candy and a new script to memorize will change what youve been supporting-destroy USA
More BS? Vote Obama!
------------------------------------------

How original. Just like McLame. Whasamatter? No original thought, dittohead?

Instead of arguing over whether the candidates are nice, liars, etc, why not look at the facts when you decide who to vote for....the failed policies of Bush/MCCain economics are seen in Bloombergs article of Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- "More Americans than forecast filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week, while total benefit rolls rose to the highest level in almost five years, as companies cut staff to maintain profits in a slowing economy.
First-time jobless claims fell to 445,000 in the week ended Sept. 6 from a revised 451,000 the prior week that was more than initially reported. The number of people staying on rolls rose 122,000 to 3.525 million, the highest since October 2003.
The labor market is weakening as the biggest housing recession in a generation spills over to the broader economy, slowing demand and causing a surge in financial losses. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News this month forecast consumer spending in the current quarter slowed to the weakest pace since 1992.
``The upward trend in initial jobless claims paints a bleak picture of the labor market,'' Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. "
Those policies did not work and got us into a world economy that is going belly up. Think about real issues not personality...This isn't American Idol...this is democracy vs. socialism; this is economic recovery vs depression...Hello!!!!

Obama faces the challenge now of the simple facts of his silence over Liberal Congress endless inaction to prevent this problem. There were in fact years in which simple, reasonable, but real regulation of mortgage standards would have prevented the meltdown. Congress did nothing. NOTHING during those years. Where was Obama?

While there is a lot of blame to go around, this financial situation is a direct result of the subprrime mortgage meltdown. The collapse of Fannie and Freddie can be traced to loosening standards at HUD. Who has the most contributions to their campaign from Fannie, Freddie and Wall Street firms? Obama.http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Friends_of_Lehman.html?showall

Obama has raised a full $395,574 from employees and PACs of the now-bankrupt Lehman brothers, second only to Hillary Clinton.

Jeeze, what a fool. It is Obama that has adopted what McCain has been saying all along. Did you just start watching NSNBC news? Surely, you're not represenative of the rest of your ditto heads that can't think past yesterday and look over each candidates platforms.

Then, you dipwad, you'd see how ignorant your post is. No wonder you posted "anonymous".

The tax cuts increased the national income and the wealthiest are paying a larger portion. The problem comes with spending, especially in entitlements.

People continue to comment that Republican capitalist are greedy and Democrats are more generous. I guess that depends on how you look at it. As an IL resident, I am extremely opposed to Obama’s view on charity. Obama does a great job at funding his charitable projects with MY tax dollars; but doesn’t bother using very much of his own personal wealth. I remember reading that the Obamas made more money last year than the McCains; yet the McCains gave a larger percentage of their income in charitable contributions. [2007 charitable contributions portion of income: McCains’ 18% of $701,000 compared to Obamas’ 6% of 4.2 MILLION] Biden didn’t even give close to 1% of his income last year or anytime during the last 10 years for that matter. I haven’t seen the Palin’s report yet; but it’ll be interesting to see how theirs compares.

Would our economy be in the state it is if Democrats would be willing to put their own money where their mouth is rather than the taxpayers' money?

McCain faces the challenge now of the simple facts of his silence over Bush's endless inaction to prevent this problem. There were in fact years in which simple, reasonable, but real regulation of mortgage standards would have prevented the meltdown. Bush did nothing. NOTHING during those years. Where was McCain?

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:18 PM
"I think Obama is voting for McCain. He is now for change and is finally paying attention to the economy( community org)."
---------------------------------------

Jeeze, what a fool. It is McLame that has adopted what Obama has been saying all along. Did you just start watching Faux news? Surely, you're not represenative of the rest of your ditto heads that can't think past yesterday and look over each candidates platforms.

Then, you dipwad, you'd see how ignorant your post is. No wonder you posted "anonymous".

Hmmmm....voters are going to start concentrating on issues rather than shallow affected personalities. Not exactly the best news for Liberals as they've been not winning elections for 40 years by obfuscating the issues.

Posted by: Anonymous | September 15, 2008 3:20 PM

.....................................

Um, wasn't it the Republicans who said this election would not be about issues? Did you miss something?

Rather than watch the economy implode, I would rather go back to arguing about whether Obama called Palin a pig. She's no pig and Obama didn't call her one. But McCain's campaigners seem to think she is and he did. Confounded sexists.

Hmmmm....voters are going to start concentrating on issues rather than shallow affected personalities. Not exactly the best news for Liberals as they've been not winning elections for 40 years by obfuscating the issues.

What have they done to the earth?
What have they done to our fair sister?
Ravaged & plundered & ripped her & bit her
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn
& tied her with fences &
Dragged her down!

I think Obama is voting for McCain. He is now for change and is finally paying attention to the economy( community org). I think we can all agree now that the economy is not "sound" because of Liberal Congress. Nice to see he has changed his tune. Sadly, although he is going to lose, we need to elect a leader with VISION. McCain 08!!

everyone knows the liberals and dems are responsable for the current economic woes...behind the scenes liberals and dems squeezed billions out of the system and as they usually do, make sure the taxpayer bails their loses out...
get rid of dems and liberals, get rid of the problem...

Posted by: dwight | September 15, 2008 3:14 PM

.................

I'm trying to figure out if this is sarcastic or if we're supposed to buy this theory. If this is a real posting it is unquestionably the most shockingly ignorant post I've seen this election cycle.

If it's sarcasm, then it's actually an excellent use of what I'd call the "Bizarro World" argument to show the opposite of the argument is the truth and is quite funny.

"everyone knows the liberals and dems are responsable for the current economic woes...behind the scenes liberals and dems squeezed billions out of the system and as they usually do, make sure the taxpayer bails their loses out...
get rid of dems and liberals, get rid of the problem..."

Hmmmm....voters are going to start concentrating on issues rather than shallow affected personalities. Not exactly the best news for Republicans as they've been winning elections for 40 years by obfuscating the issues.

Bush enters office when US has budget surplus. Bush’s tax policy give tax break to corporate so they can generate more jobs. Corporate America greedy and is not regulated because Republicans do not believe in big government. Corporate America thru banks, brokerages, etc soak the average and poor in American by charging them interest at a rate that is criminal rather than creating more jobs. America’s budget goes from surplus to HUGE debt. Jobless numbers begin to rise. Corportate America and Banks deceive everyone with their greed even those abroad. America has to borrow money from China, Russia, etc to carry it’s huge debt. Corporations and wall street start to fail because the average American cannot pay off their debt (with those wicked interest rates) Busch calls in his Sec of Treasury who gets in bed with the Fed Reserve and begins to bail out Banks and Mortgage companies (Indy, Fannie and Freddie, other banks---check FDIC site) with taxpayers money(Look at the US debt since the Federal government took over Fannie and Freddie’s debt) CEO at this banks, brokerages loose their jobs but are given millions of dollars as they leave. Global economies sinks into recession. Auto industries fail, airlines fail, trucking fails, etc and go to the Fed for taxpayers money for bailouts. McCain enters office with tax policy give tax break to corporate america….World economies sink into Depression…..Happening now…sad but true!!!

everyone knows the liberals and dems are responsable for the current economic woes...behind the scenes liberals and dems squeezed billions out of the system and as they usually do, make sure the taxpayer bails their loses out...
get rid of dems and liberals, get rid of the problem...

I thik McCain is voting for Sen. Obama. He is now for change and is finally paying attention to the economy. I think we can all agree now that the economy is not "sound" like McCain claimed. Nice to see he has changed his tune. Sadly, although he is an American hero, we need to elect a leader with VISION. Obama!!

No doubt there's some of that going on, but if Alito, Roberts, and whomever McCain-Palin nominate don't overturn that decision (which would only leave it up to the States to outlaw or not), you can bet I won't vote for a Republican ever again. Why don't we test your theory?

You probably voted for Bush Twice. Dumb and Dumber, that's why you'll vote McShame and the pig with lipstick, or whatever she is.
Bloomberg, is, maybe just a little invested in the market! Just, maybe a tad! He's loosing a fortune, of COURSE HE'S GOING TO SAY IT'S SOUND!

LONDON - BRITISH PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN voiced support for UNITED STATES DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BARACK OBAMA, saying he would help Americans struggling with an economic downturn.

In a move seen by some British media as a break with a political convention requiring foreign leaders to remain neutral ahead of US elections, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BROWN praised MR. OBAMA as a fellow “progressive politician” who would help ordinary Americans in tough times. With eight weeks to go before the presidential election, MR. OBAMA and his Republican rival John McCain are neck-and-neck in domestic opinion polls.

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BROWN described the race for the White House as “electrifying” and said: “It is the DEMOCRATS who are generating the ideas to help people through more difficult times.”

“To help prevent people from losing their home, BARACK OBAMA has proposed a Foreclosure Prevention Fund to increase emergency pre-foreclosure counselling, and help families facing repossession,” he wrote in an article in The Monitor magazine, a monthly political publication.

2008 UNITED STATES DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL RACE

DEMOCRAT HARVARD LAW VS. GOP REPUBLICAN D STUDENTS

OBAMA OF HARVARD LAW AND PRESIDENT OF HARVARD LAW REVIEW
BIDEN OF SYRACUSE LAW

MCCAIN OF NAVY ACADEMY LAST PLACE D STUDENT
PALIN OF MOOSE COLLEGE

GOP Republican Wall Street SRO (Self Regulatory Organization) Robber Baron Supercapitalism Is Down And Will No Longer Rob the U.S. Treasury and American People

THEY ARE ALL GOP REPUBLICAN OOOOOIIIIILLLLL MILLIONAIRES AND OIL STOCKHOLDERS

GOP REPUBLICAN OOOOOIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL IS THE NEW CRACK
GOP REPUBLICAN OOOOOIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL IS THE NEW CRACK
GOP REPUBLICAN OOOOOIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL IS THE NEW CRACK

CAN YOU SAY GOP REPUBLICAN CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, ROB OUR U.S. TREASURY, AND SPECULATE FOR OBSCENELY HIGH PROFIT RETURNS ON WALL STREET OIL STOCKS

WAKE UP AMERICA, BECAUCE THE WORLD ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT THE CRIMINAL GOP REPUBLICAN PARTY OF CONSPIRATORS

NATIONALIZE U.S. OIL FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE AS A VITAL RESOURCE

AMERICA AND AMERICANS FIRST

NO MORE GOP REPUBLICAN WALL STREET OOOOOIIIIILLLLL SPECULATION AND FRAUD AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

IF YOU SAY THAT YOU LOVE AMERICA, THEN PROVE IT AND STOP THE GOP REPUBLICAN RAIDERS UPON OUR U.S. TREASURY AND OUTSOURCING OF U.S. JOBS

GOP Republican Wall Street Get Rich Quick By Robbing America Treasury Wild Speculators Created The Enormous National Debt, So Make Them Pay For It And Balance Our Budget.
GOP Republican Wall Street Supercapitalism Speculators Have Committed Treason Against Our Country.

Obama has made many contradictory statements with regard to Iraq. His latest position is that US combat troops should be out by 2010. Yet his effort to delay an agreement would make that withdrawal deadline impossible to meet.....

McCain deriding banking regulators reminds of Capt. Renault in Casablanca who exclaims "I'm shocked, shocked that there is gambling going on here" immediately before his own winnings are handed to him. McCain/Bush's and Republican's mantra has been deregulation, deregulation, deregulation....and this is what happens...Wall Street meltdown. Should we reward them with another four years???

"Our economy, I believe, still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times, so I promise you: We will never put America in this position again. We will clean up Wall Street," McCain said.

That's the Republican candidate, proving his earlier statement that he doesn't really understand economics. Some reporter should ask either McCain or Palin, if they can get access, "What does the current patchwork oversight system you have been responsible for consist of and what would you change?"

Bloomberg agrees with McCain! I'd trust Bloomberg any day over Obama on the economy.

Blomberg: "I do agree that fundamentally America has an economy that is strong," he said. "America’s great strength is its diversity, its hard work, its good financial statements, its broad capital markets,its enormous natural resources" and its work ethic, he said. "I'd rather play America's hand than any other country," he said. "Without problems? No."

McCain advisor Donald Luskin is frustrated, not at Wall Street or the Bush administration, but at you middle class whiners and exaggerators. And he's not gonna take it any more!:

"But that doesn't make any of it true. Things today just aren't that bad. Sure, there are trouble spots in the economy, as the government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and jitters about Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers, amply demonstrate. And unemployment figures are up a bit, too. None of this, however, is cause for depression -- or exaggerated Depression comparisons."

That's what Bushonomics are reduced to? After eight years of being told the next tax cut for billionaires would unleash the long promised economic Mecca, after two straight Presidential terms where critics of Bush's trickle-down mythology were soundly ridiculed as ignorant socialists, after being told We the People don't understand complicated money stuff and we should just shut up, work harder, shop our brains out, and trust conservative economic philosophy, the best case scenario our millionaire conservative cheerleaders can make in the end is 'it's not as bad' as the Great Depression?

"Vote Republican and it won't be as bad as the Great Depression!"

I remember a time when the nation was at peace, its economy driven by technical innovation and stable markets allowing the accumulation of investment capital. Interest rates and unemployment were near historical lows, wages and productivity rose almost as steeply the stock market. Talk of investment banks going broke or market meltdowns was rare to non existent. And no one had to write columns begging people not to compare the economy to the Great Depression. It sounds like a conservative wet dream, but it was actually called the Clinton Years.

ROE V WADE WILL NEVER, EVER BE OVERTURNED, NEVER, EVER! WANNA KNOW WHY? CAUSE ALL THOSE LOBBYISTS ON K STREET, MAKE A FORTUNE OFF THAT WEDGE ISSUE.
IF ROE V WADE WERE GOING TO BE OVERTURNED, BUSH WOULD HAVE DONE IT! HE DID NADA AND NEITHER WILL ANYONE.
MONEY, HONEY, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, MONEY!

To address these polls, you pain supporters are so delighted about.
They ONLY call people with landlines who have voted in the past. The GOP has been sending out phoney ballots, to voters in lots of states, the only way they can win!
Still, when you take into account. 400,000 new African American voters have been registered in Ohio alone, well , you do the math.
I had a young girl come to my door last week. literally over 10 million young voters have registered as Dem's in the last 6 months. Yes, THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY VOTE ALSO. BELIEVE ME, NO STONE HAS BEEN LEFT UN TURNED.
THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER 4 YEARS OF CHENEY, CAUSE IF YOU THINK CHENEY IS GOING ANYWHERE, WRONG!
HE WILL STILL BE IN CONTROL. TOO BAD MCCAIN SOLD OUT TO THE NEO CONS, I MIGHT HAVE CONSIDERED VOTING FOR HIM, AND I DID IN 2000.http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/09/9718_mccain_lehman_crisis_gramm.html

"ACTION ALERT - WE NEED TO SHUT DOWN THEIR PHONE SYSTEMS AGAIN WITH OUR CALLS AND FAXES!

Senators Deciding NOW Behind Closed Doors!

Unemployment Rates are at a 5-YEAR HIGH!

Yet Congress Considering 550,000 More Foreign Workers!!"

so typical, check nothing and trade in fear.

1. these vast vast majority of these green cards (employment based which the ranting is about) will go to people already in the
US and in line, with paying jobs.

2. turning these temporary workers that have limbo staus into permanent residents makes them true long term investors in the economy. they are here anyway, why not encourage them to buy houses and invest by taking away the years of uncertainity? also permanent status leads to higher wages and job mobility - which is good for all workers as temporary status workers can be exploited.

think before the usual nativist "patriotic" rants start. we want permanent workers not temporary people who stay in line and in limbo forever. that is what causes problems for US workers- not this belated action.

"Interesting: He says he wants the soldiers to come home from Iraq, but he is trying to convince the Iraqi leaders to delay any such agreement. What a hypocrite —

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.”

“However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open.” Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is “illegal,” he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the “weakened Bush administration,” Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a “realistic withdrawal date.” They declined.

Obama has made many contradictory statements with regard to Iraq. His latest position is that US combat troops should be out by 2010. Yet his effort to delay an agreement would make that withdrawal deadline impossible to meet.

Supposing he wins, Obama’s administration wouldn’t be fully operational before February - and naming a new ambassador to Baghdad and forming a new negotiation team might take longer still.

By then, Iraq will be in the throes of its own campaign season. Judging by the past two elections, forming a new coalition government may then take three months. So the Iraqi negotiating team might not be in place until next June.

Then, judging by how long the current talks have taken, restarting the process from scratch would leave the two sides needing at least six months to come up with a draft accord. That puts us at May 2010 for when the draft might be submitted to the Iraqi parliament - which might well need another six months to pass it into law."

In recent weeks, John McCain and the Republican Party have blatantly and without any shame adopted the Democratic campaign theme of “change”. It should be evident to an objective observer that Bush 43 and now McCain and Pailin are mere puppets to the true Republican national party leaders who control their strings. Cheney is one of the few of that inner cabal that have been calling the shots since the Nixon administration. They are in fact a continuation of the Nixon and Ford presidencies with only a disruption during the Carter and Clinton years. Bush 41( Head of the RNC during Nixon, former head of the CIA,VP to Reagan, and president is probably the real leader of this political Cosa Nostra if not a equal partner of this power sharing musical chairs game. His right and left hands have been Dick Cheney(former Sec.of Defense of Bush 41, former White House Chief of staff for Ford) and the other is Donald Rumsfeld(former Sec. of Defense for Ford and Bush 43,former special envoy to the Middle East during Reagan). Another member of this group, more likely a captain if not a full blown boss himself is James Baker (former C.O.S of Reagan, former Under Sec. of Commerce for Ford, former C.O.S and Sec of State for Bush 41, former Sec. of Treasury for Reagan, former chief legal advisor to Bush 43). Another captain or free lance enforcer is Karl Rove a college drop out and campaign manager for both Bush 41 and 43, also for Phil Gram who is McCain’s economic advisor.
Lets look at McCain’s staff of change.
On July 2, 2008, Steve Schmidt was given "full operational control" of McCain's campaign. Steve Schmidt prior to this was a top aide to Dick Cheney and a protégé to Karl Rove. Another advisor is Charles R. Black worked for Ronald Reagan's two Presidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980 and he was a senior political adviser to the 1992 re-election campaign of George H.W. Bush. Another advisor is Randy Scheunemann. He was project director for the Project for the New American Century. A neo-conservative think tank founded by non other than Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Bill Kristol and others in 1996. Other signatories to this group reads like a who’s who of the last 8 years of the republican administration.
These people have never cared about small town america or “values” All they care about is war profiteering. Many of the signatories have never served in the military. Cheney and Rove both dodged the draft. Look at the statement of principles by the PNAC. Rumsfeld was a good friend of Saddam Huessin in the 80’s Cheney didn’t want Nelson Mandela free. These are the real puppet masters, they throw out the talking points about the left of being elitist and not caring about middle america and these same guys other than Rove have advanced degrees and are worth no less than 10 million dollars. People who support them need to extricate their heads out of Limbaugh and Hannity’s asses and see what is really happening to them. McCain is not his own man he confuses stories of his real life with a book he read “The Gulag Archipelago", in which a fellow prisoner - not a guard - silently drew a cross in the dirt with a stick.” An ironic twist to all this is Eliot A. Cohen, a signatory to the PNAC "Statement of Principles", responded in The Washington Post: "There is no evidence that generals as a class make wiser national security policymakers than civilians. George C. Marshall, our greatest soldier statesman after George Washington, opposed shipping arms to Britain in 1940. His boss, Franklin D. Roosevelt, with nary a day in uniform, thought otherwise. Whose judgment looks better?"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/2581086/John-McCain-accused-of-plagiarising-Wikipedia-for-speeches.html. Even if you don’t like Obama there is no-way a sane person can want this continued blatant fleecing of our Nation.
Thes are all verifiable facts and can be found just with a google search. AIPAC and PNAC are the military industrial complex.
Other than the ultra affluent, how can anyone support the Republican Party? When will small town America realize that they are being duped into supporting the ultra-affluent agenda? The talking points of the right are so hypocritical that it becomes laughable. The red meat of the right is the so called Main stream Media as if Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. are not part of it. They demean celebrity status, however they tout one of their greatest presidents(Reagan) was an actor. They say they are the party of patriotism, yet many of the upper echelon of the party have never served, i.e. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Baker, Reagan. They say that they care about "Main Street" USA but only bail out the Whales of Wall Street. Yet small town America eat this tripe every year. They don't care about religion unless it can be used to stir up the base, nor science or technology unless there is a buck to be made. Small town America takes pride on its freedom but yet don't realize that over time we are becoming less free, ie wire tapping and other forms of domestic surveillance. They demean people of intelligence because they know many people of small town America don't have degrees and use it at a fake issue and call people who spent time in academia as elitist when many on the right serve on university boards and have part-time professorships. They say they are against affirmitive action but yet celebrate mediocrity, Bush43 and McCain graduating at the bottom of their classes. Who both came from already well established families and had all the opportunities and connections to excel. Why does small town America believes this is the party for them? Christian conservatives seem to the be the first ones who want to go to war and bomb someone before any diplomacy is tried. Why can't small town America and Christian conservatives realize they are being used as pawns just as much the Islamic fundamentalist are. Islamic fundamentalist come from small town Middle East and given the same kind of talking points as the evangelicals. They want prayer in school, no choice available to women, and believe to the core that their ideas about worship and country are the best. Wake up small town America you are being duped.Talking about who is more patriotic, symbols, lipstick and wearing pins are nothing more than distractions to the real issue of how a few select group of people have held power almost continuously for over 30 years. Yes the left has their own political power groups but none have been so effective at pushing forward an agenda that is fundamentally bad for the U.S. and in a larger view the entire world. I stress again the now defunct PNAC and the AIPAC have been slowly pushing us closer to another World War. Bush41 and et al have been doing this and no one calls them on it. Every Republican administration has basically the same people recycled since Nixon. Just do a little research and you will see that these people are just pushing this agenda of some kind of Pax Americana and not taking into account that maybe other nations of the world might not like that and if not bomb them.Many people who support the Republican party, really need to read "1984" by George Orwell and see how we as nation have been inching closer to that type of society. People think this story is about a communist society, but it is more about how a society is kept in a constant state of fear in order for the ruling class to stay in control. Doublespeak, patriotism to the point of frenzy, censorship, erosion of civil liberties (not respecting the Constitution) is happening right in front of us. The consolidation of government (the executive branch has never been more powerful than ever, gridlocked legislature with only two parties for representation, a judiciary that just kowtows to the executive branch). No real independent journalism. Cameras placed on every street corner. This may sound like delusional conspiracy stuff, but I implore people to research for themselves to really see what is happening to them. People think this could never happen here in the U.S. but all this has already happening, slowly, incrementally all under the guise of "keeping America safe

Obama has been talking about the economy, he isn't just starting to talk about it. Why is McCain still not talking about it? Wait, he has said the economy is strong repeatedly, so what does he say today?

It's about time the focus started to change again. The worst National Security problem the US has is it's deteriorating economy, the rising number of poor people and the shrinking middle class and the anger that comes with it.

The worst foreign policy problem the US has is the economy, the repaying of a huge debt with a weakening US$, if at all. Explain it to China and the Saudis why the money they gave to the US is gone - for good.

The worst environment problem the US has is the economy, the fact that modernizing the dismal infrastructure needs funding and there is no more money around for that. So old sewers will continue to spill waste into nature. Suffering public transport will not be able to cope with the increasing number of people who can't afford to get to work with their cars, asf.

Your worst healthcare problem is the economy. Ever less people will be insured by their employers if unemployment rates soar.

Your worst social security problem will be the economy. Ever less people will earn the money to pay into the system.

Of all these issues the Bush Administration has never seriously adressed a single one.

If McCain wins the 2008 Presidential Election, Americans better hope and pray that the fine print found on every glossy mutual fund brochure applies. Because another four years of Bushism in the form of John McCain could make the Great Depression sound like the good old days:

"In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer, people briefed on the deals said. The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees..."

Looking back at the vast economic wreckage brought on by "conservative" policies provides a chilling picture for a future under the thumb of John McCain and his merry band of industry lobbyists. It's frightening to contemplate where we'd be, right now, if these bozos had succeeded in 'privatizing' social security, as in throwing it and the future of millions of retiring Americans who rely on it into the same snapping jaws that brought us this latest financial pile of crap.

The nation has learned at great, tragic cost that "conservatives" can't be trusted to prevent terrorist attacks, bring the top Al-qaeda kingpin to justice, wisely initiate and manage foreign wars, or control spending. Now, with the benefit of empirical hindsight, perhaps it's time to publicly recognize what everyone now knows: "conservatism" doesn't work at home, either.

Again the Post follows the script that there are only two candidates to choose from. Economic turmoil such as this is even more reason to explore the positions of emerging party and independent candidates. Ralph Nader's knowledge of economic issues and regulatory processes is better than McCain's and Obama's combined. He is on the ballot in 45 states and the District of Columbia. He has something to offer on this issue, and it is time that the Post report it.

McCain is so out of touch on the Economy. Even Greenspan says that McCain's tax cuts don't make sense. The heart and soul of fiscal conservatism is accountability. We need to hold republicans accountable and kick them out.

I think we've seen McCain-Palin max out in the polls, so I'd be surprised if the current economic conditions combined with a more populist message from the Dems doesn't help them pull out a close victory. Should be interesting...

The Enquirer’s team of reporters has combed the Alaskan wilderness to discover the hidden truth about Gov. Palin’s family, which has become a central part of her political identity.

The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Sarah's oldest son, Track, was addicted to the power drug OxyContin for nearly the past two years, snorting it, eating it, smoking it and even injecting it. And as Track, 19, heads to Iraq as part of the U.S. armed forces, Sarah and her husband Todd were powerless to stop his wild antics, detailed in the new issue of The ENQUIRER, which goes on sale today.

THE ENQUIRER also has exclusive details about Track's use of other drugs, including cocaine, and his involvement in a notorious local vandalism incident.

“I’ve partied with him (Track) for years,” a source disclosed. “I’ve seen him snort cocaine, snort and smoke OxyContin, drink booze and smoke weed.”

The source also divulged the girls would do anything for Track and he’d use his local celebrity status to manipulate other guys “to get them to steal things he wanted.”

“He finally did what a lot of troubled kids here do,” the source divulged. “You join the military.”

And as Gov. Palin has billed the state of Alaska for various expenses related to her children, as reported by The Washington Post, The ENQUIRER's investigation reveals that she was so incensed by 17-year-old Bristol's pregnancy that she banished her daughter from the house.

Another family friend revealed pre-prego Bristol was as much of a hard partier as Track was.

“Bristol was a huge stoner and drinker. I’ve seen her smoke pot and get drunk and make out with so many guys. All the guys would brag that the just made out with Bristol.”

When Sarah found out the teen was pregnant by high schooler Levi Johnston, she was actually banished from the house. As part of the cover-up, Palin quickly transferred Bristol to another high school and made her move in with Sarah’s sister Heather 25 miles away!

And the ENQUIRER also learned that Levi Johnston, the baby mamma’s future wedded dada, who was glad handed by John McCain at the GOP Convention, isn’t too happy about his impending shotgun nups either.

“Levi got dragged out of the house to go to Minnesota,” Levi’s friend told The ENQUIRER. “Levi realizes he’s stuck being with Bristol because her mom is running for Vice President.”

The friend also confided that both Bristol and Levi “broke up a few times and they definitely messed around with other people.”

Meanwhile, as members of the Palin family’s war viciously over “Trooper-Gate” and claims of Sarah’s extramarital affair have turned the political race into a chaotic arena of threats, denials and vicious attacks by political black ops, The ENQUIRER has discovered shocking new details about the red-hot affair scandal!

For the full story of the secrets Sarah Palin is trying to hide – pick up the new ENQUIRER!

ACTION ALERT - WE NEED TO SHUT DOWN THEIR PHONE SYSTEMS AGAIN WITH OUR CALLS AND FAXES!

Senators Deciding NOW Behind Closed Doors!

Unemployment Rates are at a 5-YEAR HIGH!

Yet Congress Considering 550,000 More Foreign Workers!!

Federal law-makers who claim to champion the American worker are once again showing their true intentions. While 592,000 U.S. citizens were added to the unemployment rolls in August, Congress wants to add 550,000 foreign workers to our labor market. Senate staffers are negotiating behind closed doors right now!

Congress doesn't seem to care that this cheap imported labor pool will compete directly with the MILLIONS OF U.S. CITIZENS who are actively seeking employment! Let your Senators know that you care!

The Judiciary Committee may vote this week on HR 5882 to give hundreds of thousands more American jobs to foreign workers as our economy continues to collapse! The bill is packaged as a means of "recapturing" unused visas from previous years, but, in fact, unused visas already roll over to the following year. The legislation contrives a formula to double-count the unused visas by adding them to multiple categories to effect a huge total increase.

It is shocking that Congress would consider this action while American workers are struggling to find jobs and support their families. The bill is simply a concession to the cheap-labor lobby that sees immigration as a means of undercutting American workers.

YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED

DEMAND that your Senators oppose this effort to give U.S. jobs away to foreign workers.

This bill may move quickly so you may also want to call your Senators through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

My wife and I had a profoundly retarded son - he never spoke a word or walked - he never sat up - he never looked at me - for all I knew he was deaf and blind as well.

Every meal he ever ate we fed him. Every diaper he ever wore we changed him. Every foot he ever moved from where he was lying we carried him. Every time he went to bed we carried him upstairs. Every morning we carried him downstairs.

We became a test marketing project for Depends adult diapers - we got 'em free and had to let the manufacturer know what we thought of them.

He lived to be ten years old. We did nothing but worry about what was going to happen to him. Then one day he simply woke up and died.

My wife gave up the best ten years of her life caring for Michael. We got no help from any government agency except our local school for handicapped kids. No medicare ; no medicaid; no state assistance. You see I "made too much money" - I was a middle management officer in a bank with two other kids and it was the only income in my home - but I made too much money.

Michael is gone now. So is my wife. She never went to church. She was not a believer. If there is a God in his heaven then she is sitting under a massive oak watching her perfect 10 year old son play with his 12 year old brother (yes - we lost two boys) in the green grass under a sunny sky with a cool breeze moving through his hair mop - "Mommy look at me!! Look at my kite!!" and she will wave and smile.

There was no preacher at her funeral - except for a local female Methodist minister who knew my wife, a woman who never went to church, a woman who lived Christianity in her daily life . I will not forget her kindness. She spoke without being asked of how this woman went on to have two fine daughters after her two disabled sons and how she made a lunch hour appointment for an abortion and changed her mind at the last minute.

Talk is cheap. It’s a lot easier talk about having a kid like Mike than to be the parents. Too many of you fine religious folk feel so good about yourselves, then you smile and go on to your next “Fellowship” meeting or casserole supper knowing you saved another life.

No one should have to bear a Michael at 30 if they don’t want to.......that’s choice.

Those who advocate the opposite should be prepared to urge society to provide care for that child for its entire life, even if you have to raise taxes. It’s the cost of being pro-life. Think of that the next time you see two old people pushing an adult retarded child in a wheel chair in the mall.

More people own3ed homes in the GW Bush Adminsitration than any other President in the history of the country. Update: Also more people lost homes including those who owned homes pre-GW ... WAS THIS A SCAM FOR THE RICH OR NOT??!! ... They got gullible people to overtend themselves into thinking they could afford a home ... while banks, lenders and rich CEOs took advantage of the public. It is all coming home to roost